Departments: Termination of Employment

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister whether his Office undertakes employee exit interviews.

Tony Blair: For these purposes, my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Hilary Armstrong) on 13 February (119967).

Honours

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those who have been stripped of an honour previously bestowed upon them; and what the reason was in each case.

Tony Blair: The names of people who have forfeited their honour are published in the  London Gazette, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1070W, on Afghanistan: overseas aid, when the last audited statements were presented to his Department by the Ministry of Finance; and whether they are publicly available.

Hilary Benn: The last audit of the ARTF account was carried out on 30 June 2006 by the international accounting firm, Deloitte. The review was conducted in accordance with the standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. DFID received the last audited statement in January 2007. In the interest of their relationship with the government of Afghanistan, the World Bank has asked that the accounts not be shared with the public. However, the conclusion of the audit was that "the bank maintained effective internal control over financial reporting of trust fund activities".

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1070W, on Afghanistan: overseas aid, how the £50 million unearmarked support to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund has been spent by that fund, broken down by main items of expenditure.

Hilary Benn: DFID's unearmarked £50 million support, along with the resources of other contributing donors, are managed by the World Bank in a pooled trust fund which reimburses Government for any expenditures that meet certain eligibility criteria. This puts the government of Afghanistan in the lead, in setting and implementing its development priorities. As these resources are pooled, specific expenditures cannot, by definition, be ascribed to any one donor.
	The ARTF is split into two windows, the recurrent window (which meets the essential recurrent costs of the Government) and the investment window (which provides financing for development activities under Government National Priority Programmes). This year $280 million of donor contributions were allocated to the recurrent window. Of these resources, 69 per cent. of expenditures were spent on salaries (predominantly for teachers), 6 per cent. on pensions and the remaining 25 per cent. on operations and maintenance costs (e.g. fuel and electricity for Ministries). Split by Ministry, the largest share (39 per cent.) went to the Ministry of Education. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Health, Labour and Social Affairs, Higher Education and Martyrs and Disabled all received approximately 5 per cent. each with other Ministries also receiving smaller sums.
	The remaining $120 million, including DFID's earmarked £5 million for each of the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) and Microfinance Investment Service Facility Afghanistan (MISFA), was allocated to the following 11 national priority programmes through the investment window:
	Technical Assistance Feasibility Studies
	National Emergency Employment Program
	Microfinance Program
	Telecom and Microwave Link
	Kabul Power Supply
	National Solidarity Program
	Civil Service Capacity Building
	Rehabilitation of Naghlu Hydropower Plant
	Urban Water Supply and Sanitation
	Education Quality Improvement
	Rural Water Supply and Sanitation
	More detailed information will be available in the latest ARTF quarterly report which we will place in the House of Commons Library when we receive it next week.

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1070W, on Afghanistan: overseas aid, whether members of community development councils are remunerated.

Hilary Benn: Members of community development councils are not remunerated.

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1070W, on Afghanistan: overseas aid, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on the water table in Helmand province as a result of the digging of the  (a) 150 wells dug to date and  (b) further 150 wells to be dug.

Hilary Benn: DFID included a Helmand water table assessment in its programme design. We had originally sourced an Italian NGO to undertake this assessment; however they are no longer working Afghanistan. DFID is currently in negotiations with a Danish NGO, DACAAR, the largest water and sanitation non-governmental organisation in Afghanistan, to oversee an assessment of the well construction which will include the impact on the water table.

Commonwealth Education Fund

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the  (a) past work and  (b) future of the Commonwealth Education Fund.

Gareth Thomas: The Commonwealth Education Fund, launched in 2002, has sought to increase access to primary education in Commonwealth (CEF) developing countries and has focused attention on the vital role of civil society in helping achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Its strength lies in its catalyst role galvanising civil society organisations to participate in planning and monitoring national Education for All plans and the education component of PRSPs (poverty reduction strategies). It also supports innovative ways to ensure all children—including the most vulnerable such as AIDS orphans and socially excluded groups—are able to go to school.
	The UK Government support the CEF through its three components, The Strategic Fund which is the main fund, the Comic Relief Fund and the School Links Programme. Other donors, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have contributed to the CEF since its launch.
	We value the work of the CEF in strengthening the capacity of civil society in the developing world and in strengthening relationships between government, civil society and the private sector. DFID has extended the completion dates of the funds to 2008.

Family Planning: Overseas Aid

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was given in grants to  (a) International Planned Parenthood Federation and  (b) Marie Stopes International in the last year for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's total expenditure in financial year 2005-06 for Marie Stopes International was £717,000.
	The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) 2005 unrestricted core contribution of £6 million was paid in March 2005 which meant it was charged against the financial year 2004-05.
	No further funds were provided to IPPF in financial year 2005-06, but we have already provided a further core contribution in 2006-07 of £7.5 million.
	Further information on DFID expenditure through UK Civil Society Organisations for 2005-06 is published in table 17 of "Statistics on International Development 2001/02-2005/06", a copy is available in the House of Commons Library.
	Final figures for financial year 2006-07 will be available from autumn 2007.

Malaysia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had on recent flooding in Johor Province, Malaysia; what assessment he has made of the aid needs of the evacuees; and what provision the Government are making available to Malaysia to help alleviate the effects of the flooding.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has been monitoring the situation closely, and has been prepared to respond if necessary. The Government of Malaysia has not requested international assistance and needs are being met by the Government of Malaysia and local response arrangements.
	It is reported that the flood water has begun to recede and people are returning home, although waters are expected to subside more slowly in some affected areas such as Batu Pahat.

Serbia: Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much development assistance the Government provided to  (a) Serbia and  (b) Kosovo in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: In the last three completed financial years DFID provided:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Serbia and Montenegro  Kosovo 
			 2003-04 5.114 3.024 
			 2004-05 4.214 2.564 
			 2005-06 3.191 2.900 
		
	
	These figures include spending on projects managed by DFID under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool. This is a joint funding initiative between DFID, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Ministry of Defence.
	Not all development assistance can be split between Kosovo, on the one hand and Serbia and Montenegro on the other. The UK provided debt relief amounting to £45.821 million for Serbia and Montenegro, including Kosovo, in 2005-06. This figure cannot be further disaggregated. A further £10,000 development assistance was provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Serbia and Montenegro, including Kosovo in 2003-04, and cannot be further disaggregated. Similarly, it is not possible to disaggregate further the British share of assistance provided through multilateral channels such as the EC, the World Bank and the United Nations. In 2004, the most recent year for which figures are available, our share of multilateral aid to Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo was £39.3 million.

Catering Services: House of Commons

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the five golden rules are which have been issued to catering staff in the House.

Nick Harvey: The "five golden rules" issued to catering staff in the Terrace Cafeteria and Members' Tea Room have been devised as part of the Refreshment Department's customer service improvement programme, launched in January 2007 Building on customer service training delivered to all staff of the Department during 2006, the programme is being led by a customer service adviser working alongside staff in their own workplaces. The programme will continue until July 2007 and is intended to highlight and encourage good customer service practices, correct poor customer service practices or attitudes and achieve greater consistency across all venues.
	The "five golden rules" issued to customer-facing staff in the Terrace Cafeteria and Members' Tea Room are:
	1. Hold eye contact with each customer and smile
	2. Greet each customer—use customer's name
	3. Make a positive statement or compliment their food choice
	4. Listen carefully and respond to what they say
	5. Thank them with a smile
	Similar guidance may be produced for staff working in other venues, but this will depend on the customer service improvement priorities in each area.

Catering Services: House of Commons

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many  (a) catering managers and  (b) service staff were employed in the Refreshment Department in the House in each year since 1997.

Nick Harvey: The information requested is available only from 2002 onwards:
	
		
			   Catering managers  Service staff 
			   Complemented  Actual numbers employed on 31 March  Complemented  Actual numbers employed on 31 March 
			 2002 13 11 148 125 
			 2003 13 11 151 131 
			 2004 11 9 117 112 
			 2005 11 11 116 107 
			 2006 11 10 113 106 
			 2007(1) 11 11 112 110 
			 (1) February. 
		
	
	Catering managers include catering and assistant catering managers, the operations managers and the Director Catering. Service staff include staff in service areas, and exclude kitchen, retail, purchasing and administrative staff and managers.

Equal Opportunities: Privy Council Office

Paul Burstow: To ask the Leader of the House what steps the Privy Council Office  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to ensure that it is in compliance with the gender equality duty in the Equality Act 2006 by the April 2007 deadline.

Jack Straw: The Privy Council Office is currently preparing its Gender Equality Scheme in line with the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities)(Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930), laid on 10 November 2006, and expects to publish its scheme by 30 April 2007. This scheme will complement existing policies on equality within the PCO and will involve consultation with all staff.

Bailiffs: Regulation

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what factors she took into account when deciding not to include proposals for the regulation of bailiffs in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Bill does include proposals for the regulation of bailiffs who are not Crown employees through an enhanced and extended county court certification process. This will be a major contribution towards our goal of a fully regulated, highly trained and professionalised enforcement industry. It remains our longer-term intention for the industry to be overseen by an independent regulatory body and on 30 January 2007 my Department and the Home Office issued a joint consultation paper, 'Regulation of Enforcement Agents (CP2/07)', which sets out options for achieving this.

Departments: Equal Opportunities

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to ensure that it and related bodies are in compliance with the gender equality duty in the Equality Act 2006 by the April 2007 deadline.

Harriet Harman: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) In order to meet the requirements of the forthcoming gender equality duty requiring public authorities to (a) eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment and (b) promote equality of opportunity between women and men; the DCA, in keeping with the specific duties imposed, has set up a project to implement its Gender Equality Scheme (GES) by 30 April 2007. In doing so, the DCA will be conforming with the steps set out in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930).
	DCA has consulted external stakeholders, business areas within the DCA, its associated offices and agencies. Consultation is continuing and a survey will shortly be issued to all DCA staff.
	DCA is looking at ways to include the gender duty at the heart of all its main functions.
	 (b) DCA, HMCS, the Tribunals Service, the Wales and Scotland Offices will be covered by the DCA Scheme and have taken part in the functions and policies audit. Action plans are being developed for each area to deliver the gender duty in their area.
	A number of statutory and non-statutory bodies are staffed by DCA employees and/or sponsored by the DCA. These are known as the DCA Associated Offices. Some of these offices will have schemes of their own and the role of each Associated Offices and the individual approaches taken to meet the general and specific duties will be set out in an appendix to the scheme which will be published on 30 April 2007.

Departments: Gender Equality

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department is taking to implement the gender equality duty due to come into force on 6 April 2007.

Harriet Harman: In order to meet the requirements of the forthcoming gender equality duty requiring public authorities to (a) eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment and (b) promote equality of opportunity between women; the DCA, in keeping with the specific duties imposed, has set up a project to implement its gender equality scheme (GES) by 30 April 2007.
	In doing so, the DCA will be carrying out the steps set out in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930).
	DCA have consulted external stakeholders, business areas within the DCA, its associated offices and agencies. Consultation is continuing and a survey will shortly be issued to all DCA staff.

Departments: Race Equality Duty

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department has taken to implement the Race Equality Duty since 2000.

Harriet Harman: The Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA) as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RRAA), places a duty on all public authorities to produce a Race Equality Scheme, commonly known as the RES, therefore, this Department as the then Lord Chancellor's Department published its first RES in May 2002. In June 2003 that Department became the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). On 1 April 2005, the DCA was restructured and assumed responsibility for the magistrates courts and at that time reviewed and republished its RES in May 2005.
	On 1 April 2006, DCA took on responsibility for the tribunal service this paved the way for the Department to revise and harmonise its RES and this was published in December 2006.
	Our revised Race Equality Scheme lays out in detail how we have implemented the Race Equality Duty. This includes information on how we:
	assess, and consult on, the likely impact proposed policies will have on promoting race equality;
	monitor policies for any adverse impact on promoting race equality;
	publish the results of assessments, consultation, and monitoring;
	make sure the public have access to information and services; and
	train staff to carry out the general duty and the specific duties.
	A copy of our Race Equality Scheme is available at
	www.dca.gov.uk/dept/equality/raceequality2006_main.pdf
	Throughout the process of reviewing the scheme, DCA have consulted external stakeholders, business areas within the DCA, its associated offices and agencies. As part of the monitoring and evaluation progress DCA will continue consult as appropriate.
	Since 2001, staff have received awareness training in relation to their responsibilities under the race legislation. In September 2006, senior managers attended workshops that raised awareness about how to continually embed equality and diversity into the business. As to achievements the Department has a management development programme for black and minority ethnic staff, positive action training which gives assess of information to the community which assists participates to realise their potential.
	DCA is part of the Race and Diversity Action Group (RADAG), which requires all criminal justice agencies in London to demonstrate how they implement the Race Relations and Disability Discrimination Acts—RADAG is chaired by Lee Jasper, Race Advisor to the Mayor of London.

Electoral Register: London

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of people on the electoral registers in each London borough are  (a) EU nationals and  (b) not nationals of (i) the UK and (ii) the Republic of Ireland.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 February 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning how many and what percentage of people on the electoral registers in each London borough are (a) EU nationals and (b) not nationals of (i) the UK and (ii) the Republic of Ireland. (120238)
	Data separately identifying British, Irish, or Commonwealth citizens are not collected centrally; these citizens are grouped together on local authority electoral returns. Therefore we are unable to produce data separately for British and Irish citizens.
	The attached table provides the nearest available data to those you requested. It provides figures for 1 December 2005 for each London Borough and the City of London, on the number and proportion of registered electors who qualify through EU citizenship, excluding British, Irish, Cypriot and Maltese citizens (Cypriot and Maltese citizens qualify as Commonwealth citizens). Also shown are equivalent data for those electors who qualify through British, Irish or Commonwealth citizenship.
	Electoral counts for 1 December 2006 will be published on 22 February 2007.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of the electorate qualifying through European Union( 2)  citizenship, and number and percentage of the electorate qualifying through British, Irish, or Commonwealth citizenship, London boroughs, 1 December 2005 
			   Electorate qualifying through European Union citizenship( 1,2)  Percentage of electorate qualifying through European Union citizenship( 1,2)  Electorate qualifying through British, Irish, or Commonwealth citizenship( 1)  Percentage of electorate qualifying through British, Irish, or Commonwealth citizenship( 1) 
			 City of London 341 5.5 5,810 94.5 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,551 2.1 119,394 97.9 
			 Barnet 9,056 4.2 206,303 95.8 
			 Bexley 1,510 0.9 169,760 99.1 
			 Brent 12,863 6.8 176,361 93.2 
			 Bromley 4,137 1.8 228,064 98.2 
			 Camden 12,263 8.4 134,181 91.6 
			 Croydon 5,841 2.4 235,128 97.6 
			 Ealing 14,338 6.5 205,599 93.5 
			 Enfield 6,924 3.5 191,164 96.5 
			 Greenwich 5,811 3.6 155,451 96.4 
			 Hackney 8,437 6.3 125,419 93.7 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 11,557 9.7 107,752 90.3 
			 Haringey 11,336 7.3 143,564 92.7 
			 Harrow 4,525 2.8 159,142 97.2 
			 Havering 1,210 0.7 175,687 99.3 
			 Hillingdon 4,389 2.4 180,045 97.6 
			 Hounslow 5,514 3.7 142,864 96.3 
			 Islington 7,375 6.1 113,528 93.9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 15,573 15.2 86,682 84.8 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3,885 3.8 98,898 96.2 
			 Lambeth 14,421 7.0 190,811 93.0 
			 Lewisham 6,564 3.7 171,534 96.3 
			 Merton 7,393 5.4 130,063 94.6 
			 Newham 11,147 6.1 171,849 93.9 
			 Redbridge 1,360 0.7 183,730 99.3 
			 Richmond upon Thames 5,182 4.2 116,941 95.8 
			 Southwark 8,919 4.8 177,162 95.2 
			 Sutton 2,512 1.9 130,358 98.1 
			 Tower Hamlets 8,254 5.4 143,378 94.6 
			 Waltham Forest 6,878 4.3 154,181 95.7 
			 Wandsworth 12,909 6.0 203,772 94.0 
			 Westminster 16,884 12.3 120,800 87.7 
			 (1) These data are as reported by each London borough to ONS. (2 )Excludes British and Irish citizens, and also Maltese and Cypriot citizens who qualify as Commonwealth citizens.  Source:  Office for National Statistics

European Social Charter

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to bring the UK into conformity with Article 17 of the European Social Charter.

James Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply
	In 2005 the United Kingdom, for the first time since 1969, was found to be not fully in compliance with Article 17 of the European Social Charter. The Government will review their policy in the areas concerned before it is next required to report on compliance with the Article, in 2010.

Legal Aid

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the predicted volume of criminal legal aid cases in each of the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The number of criminal legal aid acts of assistance is currently projected to be approximately 1.7 million in each of the next three financial years.
	An act of assistant may help more than one individual and an individual may receive more than one act of assistance.

Legal Services Commission: Expenditure

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the administration costs of the Legal Services Commission were in each year since 2000.

Vera Baird: The administration expenditure of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) during each of the financial years since its formation in April 2000 was as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 72.4 
			 2001-02 71.6 
			 2002-03 73.4 
			 2003-04(1) 90.2 
			 2004-05(1) 102.7 
			 2005-06 96.8 
			 (1) Includes monies paid to HM Court Service to meet the cost of administering legal aid payments in the Crown Court.

Prisoners: Deportation

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the  (a) policy and  (b) procedure is which governs the handing over of defendants by the courts to the immigration authorities where there is a warrant for deportation.

Harriet Harman: Under section 6 of the Immigration Act 1971, the criminal courts have power to make a recommendation for deportation. When they do so, they give written notification to the Immigration and Nationality Department to enable a decision to be made on whether to deport the offender.

Property: Valuation

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of properties in each local authority area in the UK with a value of more than £1 million.

Vera Baird: The information requested has been placed in both Libraries of the House and represents residential properties registered in England and Wales, sold at open market value of more than £1 million, in each local authority area in 2006. Council tax banding may provide a more detailed estimation of the total number of properties within the requested category.

Avian Influenza: Suffolk

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had on the use of mobile incineration units to incinerate the turkeys culled during the Suffolk H5N1 outbreak.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department's disposal plans for avian influenza are set out in DEFRA's Overview of Emergency Preparedness for Exotic Animal Diseases, which supplements the Defra Framework Response Plan for Exotic Animal Diseases. This was laid before Parliament in December 2006 following a formal public consultation. It sets out the agreed hierarchy for disposal, which is incineration in an animal by-product approved fixed plant incinerator; rendering; burial in a permitted commercial landfill or on-farm burning or burial.
	Most mobile incinerators have a very limited capacity and are only approved to process less than 50 kilograms per hour and require a site specific licence. Given the quantity of carcase material to be disposed, they were not considered to be a viable disposal solution in this case.

Cod: Fishing Catches

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much cod has been landed and recorded on the Department's computer system since 1 January 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: The Marine Fisheries Agency maintains statistics on the total quantity of whitefish landed by UK fishing vessels and recorded on UK fisheries departments' systems. These statistics are released on their website, and the following data reflect the position as at 7 February 2007.
	
		
			  Cod statistics: total landings (tonnes live weight) in 2007 
			   Landings into:  
			  Stock  Scotland  England, Wales and Northern Ireland  Abroad  Total landings by UK vessels 
			 North Sea 485 158 16 658 
			 West of Scotland 15 0 0 15 
			  
			 Area VII 
			 VII A 0 4 0 4 
			 VIIB-K, VIII, IXCOPACE 0 61 1 62

Energy Efficiency

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of properties in  (a) local council and  (b) housing association ownership covered by district heating schemes; what assessment he has made of the energy use per inhabitant of such properties in comparison with other forms of housing; what plans he has to take steps (i) to improve and (ii) to promote the energy efficiency of such properties; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The 2004 English House Condition Survey estimated that district or communal heating systems supply heating to 250,000 homes in the social sector, around 150,000 of these being local authority stock, the rest registered social landlord stock. These homes have an average energy efficiency rating of 75 compared to 58 for the two sectors as a whole (homes rated using the SAP 2001 methodology).
	We do not have information on actual energy use by the occupants. The average SAP suggests district heating systems are generally very efficient. The decent homes standards requires homes to provide thermal comfort through having both efficient heating and effective insulation. Our guidance for delivering decent homes sets out the means by which landlords can meet this thermal comfort criterion, and also recommends that they seek to go further to improve energy efficiency, for example by replacing inefficient boilers, or installing extra insulation or double glazing.
	Under the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC), electricity and gas suppliers are required to achieve targets for the promotion of improvements in domestic energy efficiency which includes social sector homes.

Whales: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which countries have been sent the 'Protecting Whales—A Global Responsibility' document; which countries he consulted before publishing the document; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The DEFRA leaflet, 'Protecting Whales—A Global Responsibility', is a UK initiative designed to help recruit new anti-whaling countries to the International Whaling Commission (IWC). It has, therefore, been sent primarily to those member states of the European Union and other European countries which are not currently members of the IWC.
	It was distributed to government representatives attending the caucus of like-minded anti-whaling countries in Washington DC in January and will be distributed to all Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts in countries which are currently members of the IWC.
	UK representatives of some (principally) Commonwealth pro-whaling countries were invited to the launch of the leaflet and those who attended were given copies and asked to draw its contents to the attention of relevant Ministers and officials in their home countries.

Butler Report

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what changes have been made to record keeping and minuting of meetings since the publication of the Butler Report; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government published their response to the conclusions of the Butler Report on 23 March 2006 "Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction: Implementation of its Conclusions" (Cm 6492). This made clear that the Cabinet Committee system provides the procedures by which issues that are of interest to more than one Department are properly discussed and that the views of all relevant Ministers are considered and that discussions are properly recorded and distributed to those who need to act on them.
	Departments have access to advice on meetings and discussions that need to be minuted in die revised Guidance on Managing Private Office Records issued by the National Archives in June 2004. The Records Management Code was issued by the Lord Chancellor in 2002 under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, also provides a framework for managing records. Both the code and the guidance are available on the National Archives website at:
	http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/popapersguidance-full.pdf

Equal Opportunities: Gender

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps her Department  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to ensure that it and related bodies are in compliance with the gender equality duty in the Equality Act 2006 by the April 2007 deadline.

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office has been taking action for a number of years to  (a) end unlawful discrimination and harassment and  (b) promote equality between women and men, among both its own employees and across the civil service. The Cabinet Office is currently consulting across the Department and we will publish gender equality scheme by 30 April 2007. We are looking to produce it as part of a joint equality scheme, and we will ensure that it reflects all of the individual elements required of the gender, race and disability duties.

Government Websites

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2007,  Official Report, column 383W, what the  (a) set-up and  (b) annual running cost is of making Directgov available via (i) Sky, (ii) Ntl, (iii) Telewest and (iv) mobile phone.

Patrick McFadden: Directgov provides the main interface between the Government and the citizen. Its role was fully endorsed and emphasised by the Varney Review published in November 2006 and accepted by the Government.
	As the main interface, Directgov services need to be provided to as wide a range of people as possible and it has, therefore, been made available through both mobile telephone and digital interactive television services.
	This allows those citizens who do not have internet access, or the necessary ability to use the internet, to have access to this important gateway. The  (a) set-up and  (b) annual running costs are:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Set-up costs  Annual running costs 
			 Sky — 352,320 
			 Ntl — 40,000 
			 Telewest — 40,000 
			 TV application and perpetual software licences 328,196 48,269 
			 Mobile application development 184,980 36,000 
			 Hosting for TV and mobile — 93,300

Information Asset Register

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what datasets are logged on the Government's Information Asset Register.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	All Departments are encouraged to populate the Government's Information Asset Register, which lists details of primarily unpublished information assets in a searchable form. The Information Asset Register can be searched at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/cgi-bin/scarchIAR.pl?DB=iar On 7 February 2007 there were 292 records relating to databases and datasets.

Policy: Reviews

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2129W, on policy review working groups, how many full-time equivalent civil servants have been allocated to the policy review working groups.

Patrick McFadden: A number of civil servants across Government Departments have been involved in work related to the policy review reflecting the high priority the Government attaches to it. This work would include, for example, drafting papers and providing advice and secretariat support. The precise numbers involved at any one time vary according to the issues under consideration.

Trading Standards

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the proposed Local Better Regulation Office will  (a) set targets for and  (b) inspect local authorities' environmental health and trading standards services.

Patrick McFadden: In the spring the Government intend to publish a consultation document setting out in detail proposals regarding the role of the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO). The expectation is that LBRO will neither set targets for local authorities' environmental health and trading standards services, nor will it inspect local authorities' environmental health and trading standards services. LBRO will work within the performance framework announced in the Local Government White Paper. As a result of LBRO's activities the Government expect to see compliant businesses benefiting from a regulatory regime that is less burdensome, more consistent, more coordinated and better targeted.

Licensing Act 2003

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the timetable is for the second stage review of the Secretary of State's guidance on the Licensing Act 2003.

Shaun Woodward: As part of the second stage of the review of Guidance issued by the Secretary of State under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, a public consultation on draft revised Guidance began on 16 January. The consultation concludes on 11 April. Following the consideration and analysis of consultation responses, we expect to issue the final revised Guidance in spring 2007.

Divorced Couples

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many divorced couples there were in the armed forces as a percentage of all married couples in the armed forces in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: The following table shows Army and RAF strength by marital status at 1 April for each of the last five years. Naval service data are not available as the Naval service groups 'separated', 'divorced' and 'widowed' together.
	Figures are for UK regular forces, and therefore exclude Gurkhas, full time reserve service personnel, the home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, mobilised reservists. Figures are for trained and untrained personnel including officer designates.
	
		
			  Army strength by marital status, as at 1 April each year 2002-06 
			   Number  Percentage of total 
			   Total  Single  Married  Divorced  Separated  Single  Married  Divorced  Separated 
			 2002 110,050 56,705 49,925 3,325 95 51.5 45.4 3.0 0.1 
			 2003 112,125 59,145 49,350 3,525 105 52.8 44.0 3.1 0.1 
			 2004 112,745 59,605 49,410 3,605 125 52.9 43.8 3.2 0.1 
			 2005 109,285 56,515 48,950 3,655 165 51.7 44.8 3.3 0.2 
			 2006 107,730 56,030 48,010 3,460 230 52.0 44.6 3.2 0.2 
			  Source: DASA Tri Service 
		
	
	Army officer designates marital status can only be identified as 'single' or 'married'.
	Single includes categories 'single' and 'widower'.
	Married includes the categories 'married (legally separated revoked)', 'married' and 'married (decree nisi revoked)'.
	Divorced includes the categories 'divorced nisi absolute' and 'single marriage annulled'.
	Separated includes the categories 'legally separated' and 'divorced decree nisi'.
	
		
			  Royal Air Force Strength by marital status, as at 1 April each year 2002-06 
			   Number  Percentage of total 
			   Total  Single  Married  Divorced  Separated  Single  Married  Divorced  Separated 
			 2002 53,00 0 19,27 0 29,280 2,070 2,385 36.4 55.2 3.9 4.5 
			 2003 53,24 0 20,52 0 28,370 2,065 2,285 38.5 53.3 3.9 4.3 
			 2004 53,39 0 21,48 0 27,560 2,060 2,290 40.2 51.6 3.9 4.3 
			 2005 51,87 0 20,50 5 26,950 2,115 2,295 39.5 52.0 4.1 4.4 
			 2006 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available  Source: DASA Tri Service 
		
	
	Single includes the categories 'single' and 'widower'.
	Divorced includes the categories 'divorce absolute' and 'marriage annulled'
	Separated includes the categories 'legal separation', 'divorced nisi' and 'estranged/mutually separated'.

Peace Keeping Operations

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many soldiers have been injured in Iraq to the extent that they required hospitalisation in each year since 2003;
	(2)  how many soldiers have been injured in Afghanistan to the extent they required hospitalisation in each year since 2001.

Des Browne: The MOD is committed to publishing statistics on the number of service casualties on operations. Information on casualties and fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan is published on the MOD website:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets
	Data is published for Iraq since the commencement of operations in March 2003. Figures for UK military personnel admitted to the role 3 field hospital, previously at Shaibah Logistics Base and now at Basra Air Station are given in the table. These figures may not include all those admitted to other field hospitals on early deployments or those admitted to coalition facilities as this information is not held centrally.
	
		
			  Table 1: Numbers admitted to role 3 field hospital Iraq by year 
			   Admissions to role 3 field hospital 
			 2003 2,641 
			 2004 2,212 
			 2005 1,557 
			 2006 1,252 
			 2007 (up to 15 January 2007) 35 
		
	
	Data is published on the same website for Afghanistan from 1 January 2006. The figures for admissions of UK military or civilian personnel to UK field hospitals are given as follows. We intend to provide further information on casualties in Afghanistan prior to 2006 on the MOD website in March of this year. Initially we will publish information for Seriously Injured (SI) and Very Seriously Injured (VSI) casualties.
	
		
			  Table 2: Numbers admitted UK field hospitals Afghanistan by year 
			   Admissions to UK field hospitals 
			 2006 240 
			 2007 (up to 15 January 2007) 20

Deportation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers were deported in each of the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows the number of asylum applicants removed from the UK between October 2005 and September 2006, by month. This is the latest 12-month period for which figures can be provided: figures for the final quarter of 2006 are scheduled for release on 27 February and prior release is not permitted under the National Statistics Code of Practice.
	It is not possible to say which stage in the asylum process applicants have reached at the time of their removal, as those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage.
	Deportations are a specific subset of removals which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good; the deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked. This is different from the removal of illegal entrants, persons who breach their conditions of leave (including) overstayers, or persons who seek/obtain leave to remain by deception that are administratively removed, but not banned from returning to the UK.
	Statistics on deportation action are obtained annually. This information is not available for 2005 owing to data quality issues. The immigration and nationality directorate is currently putting in place new processes to improve its data collection systems for the future in this area.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		
			  Removals, voluntary departures and assisted returns( 1)  of asylum applicants, including dependants, October 2005 to September 2006( 2, 3) 
			  Number 
			   October 2005  November 2005  December 2005  January 2006  February 2006  March 2006 
			 Total asylum applicants removed 1,360 1,585 1,265 1,345 1,680 1,905 
			  Of whom:   
			 Principal asylum applicants(4) 1,200 1,345 1,115 1,175 1,465 1,690 
			  Of whom:   
			 Dependants of asylum applicants 160 240 150 165 215 215 
		
	
	
		
			  Number 
			   April 2006  May 2006  June 2006  July 2006  August 2006  September 2006 
			 Total asylum applicants removed 1,735 1,670 1,665 1,170 1,325 1,140 
			  Of whom:   
			 Principal asylum applicants(4) 1,525 1,490 1,465 1,050 1,225 1,020 
			  Of whom:   
			 Dependants of asylum applicants 210 180 200 120 100 125 
			 (1) Includes enforced removals, persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration and those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest five and may not sum due to rounding. (3) Provisional figures. (4) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, excluding dependants.

Domestic Violence

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic violence prosecutions were undertaken in each English police region in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The CPS holds records of proceedings for domestic violence cases since the full implementation of the compass case management system. The following tables show the number of prosecutions for domestic violence cases completed in each of the 42 areas of the CPS in 2005 and in 2006, together with the number and the proportion of cases resulting in conviction and in an unsuccessful outcome.
	
		
			  Proceedings for domestic violence: 2005 
			   Number of convictions  Percentage  Number of unsuccessful outcomes  Percentage  Total 
			 Avon and Somerset 750 67.1 367 32.9 1,117 
			 Bedfordshire 189 44.3 238 55.7 427 
			 Cambridgeshire 333 62.1 203 37.9 536 
			 Cheshire 578 64.9 312 35.1 890 
			 Cleveland 371 65.7 194 34.3 565 
			 Cumbria 292 61.1 186 38.9 478 
			 Derbyshire 673 56.1 526 43.9 1,199 
			 Devon and Cornwall 726 54.3 612 45.7 1,338 
			 Dorset 276 64.8 150 35.2 426 
			 Durham 401 75.0 134 25.0 535 
			 Dyfed Powys 172 61.6 107 38.4 279 
			 Essex 661 52.5 597 47.5 1,258 
			 Gloucestershire 440 67.7 210 32.3 650 
			 Greater Manchester 1,285 65.8 668 34.2 1,953 
			 Gwent 288 59.8 194 40.2 482 
			 Hampshire and IOW 906 60.8 583 39.2 1,489 
			 Hertfordshire 477 51.5 449 48.5 926 
			 Humberside 441 75.8 141 24.2 582 
			 Kent 437 64.2 244 35.8 681 
			 Lancashire 1,089 72.0 424 28.0 1,513 
			 Leicestershire 523 59.8 351 40.2 874 
			 Lincolnshire 249 57.5 184 42.5 433 
			 London 2,067 51.0 1,982 49.0 4,049 
			 Merseyside 770 51.5 724 48.5 1,494 
			 Norfolk 421 71.0 172 29.0 593 
			 Northamptonshire 326 59.4 223 40.6 549 
			 Northumbria 950 66.7 474 33.3 1,424 
			 North Wales 454 68.2 212 31.8 666 
			 North Yorkshire 334 58.3 239 41.7 573 
			 Nottinghamshire 550 53.2 483 46.8 1,033 
			 South Wales 678 52.2 622 47.8 1,300 
			 South Yorkshire 751 66.3 382 33.7 1,133 
			 Staffordshire 800 47.9 869 52.1 1,669 
			 Suffolk 428 63.7 244 36.3 672 
			 Surrey 248 53.0 220 47.0 468 
			 Sussex 656 57.4 487 42.6 1,143 
			 Thames Valley 832 57.5 615 42.5 1,447 
			 Warwickshire 98 77.2 29 22.8 127 
			 West Mercia 423 51.0 406 49.0 829 
			 West Midlands 1,761 59.5 1,199 40.5 2,960 
			 West Yorkshire 1,605 55.8 1,271 44.2 2,876 
			 Wiltshire 405 66.6 203 33.4 608 
			 Total 26,114 59.0 18,130 41.0 44,244 
		
	
	
		
			  Proceedings for domestic violence: 2006 
			   Number of convictions  Percentage  Number of unsuccessful outcomes  Percentage  Total 
			 Avon and Somerset 986 66.4 499 33.6 1,485 
			 Bedfordshire 334 55.1 272 44.9 606 
			 Cambridgeshire 378 62.2 230 37.8 608 
			 Cheshire 870 64.7 474 35.3 1,344 
			 Cleveland 570 67.9 270 32.1 840 
			 Cumbria 327 66.3 166 33.7 493 
			 Derbyshire 738 61.1 470 38.9 1,208 
			 Devon and Cornwall 823 64.3 456 35.7 1,279 
			 Dorset 425 66.8 211 33.2 636 
			 Durham 589 71.5 235 28.5 824 
			 Dyfed Powys 297 70.9 122 29.1 419 
			 Essex 709 61.5 443 38.5 1,152 
			 Gloucestershire 485 69.4 214 30.6 699 
			 Greater Manchester 2,169 68.3 1,008 31.7 3,177 
			 Gwent 438 64.5 241 35.5 679 
			 Hampshire and IOW 1,243 67.5 598 32.5 1,841 
			 Hertfordshire 492 57.6 362 42.4 854 
			 Humberside 734 76.3 228 23.7 962 
			 Kent 811 68.0 382 32.0 1,193 
			 Lancashire 1,653 66.0 852 34.0 2,505 
			 Leicestershire 766 59.1 531 40.9 1,297 
			 Lincolnshire 393 71.2 159 28.8 552 
			 London 3,338 53.5 2,905 46.5 6,243 
			 Merseyside 1,157 59.3 795 40.7 1,952 
			 Norfolk 571 76.0 180 24.0 751 
			 Northamptonshire 332 57.3 247 42.7 579 
			 Northumbria 1,115 66.8 554 33.2 1,669 
			 North Wales 599 70.4 252 29.6 851 
			 North Yorkshire 356 62.9 210 37.1 566 
			 Nottinghamshire 676 59.4 463 40.6 1,139 
			 South Wales 849 62.4 511 37.6 1,360 
			 South Yorkshire 1,210 70.8 500 29.2 1,710 
			 Staffordshire 1,032 65.2 550 34.8 1,582 
			 Suffolk 652 76.7 198 23.3 850 
			 Surrey 214 59.0 149 41.0 363 
			 Sussex 754 59.8 506 40.2 1,260 
			 Thames Valley 1,303 60.0 867 40.0 2,170 
			 Warwickshire 156 76.8 47 23.2 203 
			 West Mercia 507 63.1 297 36.9 804 
			 West Midlands 2,558 60.5 1,669 39.5 4,227 
			 West Yorkshire 1,749 62.8 1,034 37.2 2,783 
			 Wiltshire 462 66.4 234 33.6 696 
			 Total 35,820 63.5 20,591 36.5 56,411

Homicide: Young Offenders

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many teenagers were convicted of murder in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for the number of young persons (10-17, and 18-20) convicted at all courts for murder offences in England and Wales 1996-2005 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of young persons convicted at all courts for murder offences in England and Wales 1996-2005( 1,2,3) 
			   10-17  18-20 
			 1996 26 24 
			 1997 26 26 
			 1998 10 21 
			 1999 24 24 
			 2000 20 22 
			 2001 27 26 
			 2002 20 23 
			 2003 9 35 
			 2004 13 42 
			 2005 26 40 
			 Total 211 296 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Identity Cards

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirements will be made of organisations accredited for the identity verification service.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	No formal assessment has been made of the contribution of business improvement districts to tackling crime and community safety as yet.

Race-related Crime

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Romford of 9 February 2006,  Official Report, column 143W, on race-related crime, what policy proposals have been made following the meetings with key stakeholders to tackle homophobic hate crime more effectively.

Vernon Coaker: All hate crime, including homophobic hate crime, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Any crime can be motivated by hate and victims of hate crime may have additional needs because of its very personal nature.
	In December 2006 we produced guidance with examples of good practice of what is being done to tackle homophobic hate crime across the country. This can be found at: http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/sexual028.htm.
	This includes ways to increase reporting, because it is an under reported crime, increasing confidence in the criminal justice system, improving the way we tackle hate crime and better use of data so as to prevent repeat victimisation, hate crime must be taken seriously and its perpetrators held to account for their actions.

Secure Training Centres: Restraint Techniques

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions restraint techniques were used in each of the four secure training centres in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested, as reported by the secure training centres, is given in the following table. The figures show the use of Physical Control in Care techniques. These include low-level interventions, such as leading a young person away from a situation of potential conflict.
	The Youth Justice Board has been working with establishments across the secure estate for children and young people to agree common definitions and counting rules for collecting data on physical interventions. These should make it easier to make comparisons between different types of establishment. They will come into use from April 2007.
	
		
			  Use of restraint in secure training centres, 2004-06 
			   2004  2005( 1)  2006 
			 Rainsbrook(2) 682 573 426 
			 Medway 1,958 1,646 1,114 
			 Hassockfield 853 1,001 615 
			 Oakhill(3) 234 1,065 833 
			 (1) The figures for Rainsbrook and Oakhill have been slightly revised since this information was given in response to my hon. Friend's question of 2 June 2006,  Official Report, column 67W. (2) Establishment increased by 11 places from 31 July 2006 (3) Opened 19 August 2004.

Carers Allowances

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received carer's allowance in  (a) Peterborough in each year since 1997 and  (b) in England in each year since 2004.

Anne McGuire: The administration of carer's allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran, dated 19 February 2007:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received carer's allowance in (a) Peterborough in each year since 1997 and (b) in England in each year since 2004.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information available is in the attached annexes.
	
		
			  Annex 1: Carer's allowance?entitled cases in Peterborough 
			  Thousand 
			  As at May each year 
			   2006  2005  2004  2003  2002  2001  2000 
			 Peterborough local authority 2.21 2.07 1.94 1.74 1.49 1.39 1.27 
			 Peterborough parliamentary constituency 1.43 1.37 1.30 1.18 1.00 0.93 0.85 
			  Notes: Entitled cases totals show the number of people who are entitled to receive CA, including those who receive no actual payment. Carers entitled to receive CA may be paid the benefit, or not paid it because they receive an overlapping benefit equal to or greater than their weekly rate of CA. 'Claimant receiving benefit' cases cannot be distinguished from 'Entitled' cases prior to August 2003. Parliamentary Constituencies are those used for the Westminster Parliament.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. Definitions and Conventions: Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten; Some additional disclosure control has also been applied. 
		
	
	
		
			  Annex 2: Carer's allowance in England?entitled cases and cases in payment 
			  Thousand 
			  As at May each year:  Total entitled  Entitlement only  Claimant receiving benefit  Entitled, payment status unknown 
			 2006 643.09 263.91 379.18 ? 
			 2005 601.05 233.25 367.80 ? 
			 2004 558.56 208.07 350.49 ? 
			  Notes: Entitled cases totals show the number of people who are entitled to receive CA, including those who receive no actual payment.  Carers entitled to receive CA may be paid the benefit, or not paid it because they receive an overlapping benefit equal to or greater than their weekly rate of CA. 'Claimant receiving benefit' cases cannot be distinguished from 'Entitled' cases prior to August 2003. England totals have been derived by summing individual Government Office Region totals.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. Definitions and Conventions "-" Nil or Negligible;"." Not applicable; caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten; Some additional disclosure control has also been applied. Totals may not sum due to rounding

Child Support Agency

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents in Midlothian constituency have an outstanding claim being handled by the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 19 February 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parents in Midlothian constituency have an outstanding claim being handled by the Child Support Agency.
	The Agency begins to process new applications as soon as they are received and continues until they have been cleared. Any applications that have not yet been cleared can be regarded as outstanding. The amount of work required to achieve clearance and the elapsed time it involves varies considerably depending on, amongst other things, the circumstances of the parents and how readily they cooperate with the Agency.
	I am sorry that it is not possible to provide all the information you have requested as the computer system in use from 1993 does not hold data at the level of individual constituencies for uncleared cases. It is possible, however, to provide data held on the new computer system introduced in March 2003 at the level you request. This information, which is publicly available, relates to the number of uncleared applications on the new computer system (both new and old scheme) in December 2006 in each parliamentary constituency, and can be found in Table S2b of the December 2006 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_dec06.asp
	It should be noted, however, that as the two computer systems continue to run in parallel, the information provided does not present a complete picture of the total number of uncleared cases in Midlothian.
	Moreover, it should be noted that there are always applications for which the Agency cannot assign a constituency, either because they had been received directly via Jobcentre Plus and had not reached the point in the process at which details on the constituency of the parent with care can be identified, or because the application is on the old computer system from which it is not possible to provide robust estimates at the geographical level requested. In December 2006, there were around 61,000 such applications.
	At a national level the total volume of uncleared applications was 334,500 in May 1999, the earliest month for which data is available, and this has fallen to 238,400 in December 2006. The Agency recognises that while the number of uncleared applications has fallen significantly, it remains unacceptably high, and our challenge, as set out in our Operational Improvement Plan, is that the Agency should not have a backlog in this area by March 2009.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency

Jim Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents in Livingston constituency have an outstanding claim being handled by the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 19 February 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question abut the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parents in Livingston constituency have an outstanding claim being handled by the Child Support Agency.
	The Agency begins to process new applications as soon as they are received and continues until they have been cleared. Any applications that have not yet been cleared can be regarded as outstanding. The amount of work required to achieve clearance and the elapsed time it involves varies considerably depending on, amongst other things, the circumstances of the parents and how readily they cooperate with the Agency.
	I am sorry that it is not possible to provide all the information you have requested as the computer system in use from 1993 does not hold data at the level of individual constituencies for uncleared cases. It is possible, however, to provide data held on the new computer system introduced in March 2003 at the level you request. This information, which is publicly available, relates to the number of uncleared applications on the new computer system (both new and old scheme) in December 2006 in each parliamentary constituency, and can be found in Table S2b of the December 2006 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_dec06.asp
	It should be noted, however, that as the two computer systems continue to run in parallel, the information provided does not present a complete picture of the total number of uncleared cases in Livingston.
	Moreover, it should be noted that there are always applications for which the Agency cannot assign a constituency, either because they had been received directly via Jobcentre Plus and had not reached the point in the process at which details on the constituency of the parent with care can be identified, or because the application is on the old computer system from which it is not possible to provide robust estimates at the geographical level requested. In December 2006, there were around 61,000 such applications.
	At a national level the total volume of uncleared applications was 334,500 in May 1999, the earliest month for which data is available, and this has fallen to 238,400 in December 2006. The Agency recognises that while the number of uncleared applications has fallen significantly, it remains unacceptably high, and our challenge, as set out in our Operational Improvement Plan, is that the Agency should not have a backlog in this area by March 2009.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Earnings and Income

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the earnings and income ratio between the 95th and 5th percentile points were for  (a) male,  (b) female and  (c) all workers in each of the last 20 years.

Jim Murphy: Specific information regarding individual earnings and income for Great Britain is available in the 'Individual Income 1996-97 to 2004-05' publication.
	Consistent figures for male and female incomes are not available prior to 1996-97.
	The tables for earnings and income from 1996-97 to 2004-05 for males, females and all workers are as follows.
	It should be noted that households stating the lowest incomes to the Family Resources Survey may not actually have the lowest living standards. Comparisons of household income and expenditure suggest that a lot of people who report very low incomes appear to have high spending. The bottom 5 per cent. of the income (or earning) distribution should not, therefore, be interpreted as having the bottom 5 per cent. of living standards.
	
		
			  Table (a1) Male workers—earnings Money values of 95th and 5th percentile points, male workers total individual earnings, (2004-05 prices) 
			   £ per week 
			   Ratio 95th to 5th percentile 
			 1996-97 17.3 
			 1997-98 20.5 
			 1998-99 19.4 
			 1999-2000 20.2 
			 2000-01 19.2 
			 2001-02 17.2 
			 2002-03 18.1 
			 2003-04 19.3 
			 2004-05 18.5 
			  Note: Workers are those either full-time or part-time employed or self-employed.  Source: Family Resources Survey—Individual Incomes 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (a2) Male workers—income Money values of 95th and 5th percentile points, male workers total individual income, (2004-05 prices) 
			   £ per week 
			   Ratio 95th to 5th percentile 
			 1996-97 10.9 
			 1997-98 12.1 
			 1998-99 12.7 
			 1999-2000 11.9 
			 2000-01 11.7 
			 2001-02 12.0 
			 2002-03 11.5 
			 2003-04 12.1 
			 2004-05 12.6 
			  Note: Workers are those either full-time or part-time employed or self-employed. Total income is defined as gross individual income plus tax credits.  Source: Family Resources Survey -Individual Incomes 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (b1) Female workers—earnings Money values of 95th and 5th percentile points, female workers total individual earnings, (2004-05 prices) 
			   £ per week 
			   Ratio 95th to 5th percentile 
			 1996-97 32.3 
			 1997-98 48.6 
			 1998-99 35.7 
			 1999-2000 30.1 
			 2000-01 28.4 
			 2001-02 27.9 
			 2002-03 27.4 
			 2003-04 27.3 
			 2004-05 28.9 
			  Note: Workers are those either full-time or part-time employed or self-employed.  Source: Family Resources Survey—Individual Incomes 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (b2) Female workers—income Money values of 95th and 5th percentile points, female workers total individual income, (2004-05 prices) 
			   £ per week 
			   Ratio 95th to 5th percentile 
			 1996-97 12.6 
			 1997-98 12.3 
			 1998-99 12.5 
			 1999-2000 11.5 
			 2000-01 11.7 
			 2001-02 12.4 
			 2002-03 12.1 
			 2003-04 11.5 
			 2004-05 11.0 
			  Note: Workers are those either full-time or part-time employed or self-employed. Total income is defined as gross individual income plus tax credits.  Source: Family Resources Survey -Individual Incomes 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (c1) All workers—earnings Money values of 95th and 5th percentile points, all workers total individual earnings, (2004-05 prices) 
			   £ per week 
			   Ratio 95th to 5th percentile 
			 1996-97 26.7 
			 1997-98 34.9 
			 1998-99 33.4 
			 1999-2000 29.8 
			 2000-01 28.3 
			 2001-02 25.2 
			 2002-03 25.0 
			 2003-04 27.1 
			 2004-05 25.4 
			  Note: Workers are those either full-time or part-time employed or self-employed.  Source: Family Resources Survey -Individual Incomes 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (c2) All workers—income Money values of 95th and 5th percentile points, all workers total individual income, (2004-05 prices) 
			   £ per week 
			   Ratio 95th to 5th percentile 
			 1996-97 13.8 
			 1997-98 14.5 
			 1998-99 14.7 
			 1999-2000 13.6 
			 2000-01 14.0 
			 2001-02 14.0 
			 2002-03 13.6 
			 2003-04 13.3 
			 2004-05 12.8 
			  Note: Workers are those either full-time or part-time employed or self-employed. Total income is defined as gross individual income plus tax credits.  Source: Family Resources Survey -Individual Incomes

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many households were subject to non-dependent deductions from housing benefit in each London borough in the last year for which figures are available; and in what percentage of these households there were also dependent children;
	(2)  what the average deduction made was per household from which a non-dependent deduction was applied to their housing benefit entitlement in  (a) London and  (b) each London borough.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Non-dependant deduction information is not available below regional level. The most recent available information about non-dependent deductions is for May 2003.
	As at May 2003 there were 28,000 housing benefit recipients in London subject to non-dependant deductions. Of these, 9,000 had dependant children; this equates to 32 per cent. The average non-dependent deduction in London was £26.17.
	 Notes:
	1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest thousand, percentages to one decimal place and average weekly amount to the nearest penny.
	2. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended-payment cases.
	3. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	 Source:
	Housing Benefit and council Tax Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2003.

Incapacity Benefit

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed incapacity benefit in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in the Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside metropolitan borough council, Government Office for the North East Region and Great Britain; at May each year, 1997-2006 
			   Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  Great Britain 
			 1997 5,700 11,900 197,800 2,837,900 
			 1998 5,700 11,700 188,600 2,784,500 
			 1999 5,700 11,300 186,000 2,744,300 
			 2000 5,950 11,480 184,060 2,728,090 
			 2001 6,040 11,630 188,560 2,795,340 
			 2002 6,030 11,700 188,780 2,807,620 
			 2003 5,940 11,470 187,800 2,815,660 
			 2004 5,780 11,170 184,020 2,814,710 
			 2005 5,520 10,700 178,290 2,783,720 
			 2006 5,340 10,390 170,970 2,730,000 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for the years 1997 to 1999 have been produced using 5 per cent. data and have been rated up in accordance with the Great Britain WPLS 100 per cent. IB/SDA totals. 2. Uprated figures are rounded to the nearest 100, 100 per cent. figures to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. 'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit credits-only cases.  Source: DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. Samples from 1997 to 1999 and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data thereafter.

Income-related Benefit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of children lived in workless households in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006; and what percentage of children lived in workless households with (i) a lone parent, (ii) at least one parent claiming incapacity benefit and (iii) at least one parent claiming an income-related social security benefit in that period.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the table.
	To measure progress relating to children in workless households (CIWH), the Department uses the Household Labour Force Survey. However it is not possible to disaggregate this data below Government office region.
	The information in the table uses administrative data to provide the number and proportions of children dependent on workless benefits in Newcastle-upon-Tyne local authority. Data is not held for 1997 so 2004 has been added for comparison.
	The official definition of a CIWH is a child aged under 16 in a working age household where no adult works. The administrative data is an inexact proxy for this as it charts all children under 16 in a working age household who have at least one parent claiming workless benefits.
	The administrative data fails to incorporate in its definition workless adults who do not claim benefits. It also differs from the standard CIWH definition in that it includes children in households with both working and non-working adults, as opposed to a household with no working adults.
	The information on those claiming an income-related social security benefit is not available.
	
		
			  Children aged 0 to 15 dependent on workless benefits (income support, jobseeker's allowance, pension credit, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne local authority 
			   2004  2006 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Total (claiming at least one workless benefit) 15,405 33 13,670 30 
			 With lone parent on workless benefits 11,765 25 10,470 23 
			 With at least one parent on incapacity benefit 4,240 9 3,585 8 
			  Notes: 1. All figures supplied have been rounded to protect the confidentiality of claimants. 2. All data represent a snapshot in time of claimants on the computer system, and will therefore exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically. 3. Data represents children dependent on a parent or guardian claiming one or more of the following benefits: incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, jobseeker's allowance, income support or pension credit. 4. Due to the introduction of child tax credits in April 2003, information on child dependents are not reliably completed on the benefit computer system. Therefore children have been merged onto IS/JSA/IB/SDA/PC claims from child benefit with permission of HMRC. 5. The total numbers of children on child benefit has been used as the denominator for the percentages given.  Source : DWP Information Directorate

Median Income

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median income was in each region in the UK in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what estimatehe has made of the number of children who lived in households with income of less than 60 per cent. of the regional median, in each region, during that period.

Jim Murphy: Between 1998-99 and 2004-05 (the latest data available) the number of children in relative low income households fell by 700,000 both before and after housing costs. As a result of our reforms to the personal tax and benefit system and the national minimum wage, by April 2007, in real terms, families with children will be, on average, £1,550 a year better off, while those in the poorest fifth of the population will be on average, £3,450 a year better off.
	Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in 'Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2004-05'.
	The available information requested can be found in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table (A1) Median income in each region in the UK for the years 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			  £ per week equivalised 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			 North East 307 274 
			 North West 325 287 
			 Yorks and Humberside 321 282 
			 East Midlands 330 293 
			 West Midlands 326 286 
			 Eastern 371 321 
			 London 387 314 
			 South East 400 341 
			 South West 345 301 
			 Wales 312 278 
			 Scotland 342 304 
			 Great Britain (2004-05) 349 304 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for the regions and countries are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes overtime. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates. 2. Figures in 2004-05 prices.  Source: Family Resources Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (A2) Number of children below 60 per cent. of each regional median income in the UK for the years 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			  Number (Million) 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			 North-east 0.10 0.15 
			 North-west 0.27 0.39 
			 Yorks and Humberside 0.20 0.28 
			 East midlands 0.17 0.22 
			 West midlands 0.24 0.32 
			 Eastern 0.22 0.30 
			 London 0.52 0.65 
			 South-east 0.35 0.47 
			 South-west 0.17 0.26 
			 Wales 0.10 0.15 
			 Scotland 0.21 0.26 
			  Note: Figures for the regions and countries are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates.  Source: Family Resources Survey

National Insurance Numbers

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) EU and  (b) non-EU immigrants were claiming benefits within six months of being allocated a national insurance number in each reporting period since 1995.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available prior to 2002-03. The most recent available information is in the table.
	On 5 June 2006, we announced changes that took place from July 2006 and which introduced a 'right to work' condition before a NINO can be allocated to employment-related applicants.
	
		
			  Year of registration  All  No benefit recorded  DLA  IB  IS  JSA 
			  All nationalities   
			 2002-03 349,240 305,330 480 3,410 7,260 32,770 
			 2003-04 370,750 334,490 470 3,250 7,100 25,440 
			 2004-05 439,730 415,040 360 2,680 4,470 17,180 
			 2005-06 662,390 640,140 290 2,070 2,780 17,100 
			
			  EU   
			 2002-03 92,720 84,160 80 580 1,310 6,600 
			 2003-04 105,240 95,370 100 640 1,500 7,630 
			 2004-05 192,350 183,030 120 810 1,040 7,350 
			 2005-06 368,650 358,940 120 750 530 8,300 
			
			  Non-EU   
			 2002-03 256,520 221,170 400 2,830 5,950 26,170 
			 2003-04 265,510 239,120 370 2,610 5,600 17,820 
			 2004-05 247,380 232,010 240 1,870 3,430 9,830 
			 2005-06 293,740 281,200 180 1,310 2,250 8,800 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Benefits are shown as being in payment if the NINO holder claims the benefit within six months of NINO registration.  Source: 100 per cent. sample at 17 June 2006 from the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS).

New Deal

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of  (a) women and  (b) men leaving (i) the New Deal for Young People and (ii) the New Deal 25 Plus (A) found a sustained job and (B) moved onto jobseeker's allowance in each year for which figures are available.

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of  (a) women and  (b) men leaving (i) the New Deal for Young People and (ii) the New Deal 25 Plus (A) found a sustained job and (B) moved onto jobseeker's allowance in each year for which figures are available.

Jim Murphy: The information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   New deal for young people leavers to: 
			   Sustained employment  Jobseeker's allowance 
			   Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 1998 53 46 4 4 
			 1999 46 42 14 10 
			 2000 44 41 15 11 
			 2001 42 40 13 10 
			 2002 41 38 13 10 
			 2003 41 38 13 10 
			 2004 39 37 13 11 
			 2005 35 34 17 13 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   New deal 25-plus leavers to: 
			   Sustained employment  Jobseeker's allowance 
			   Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 2001 32 30 15 16 
			 2002 28 26 29 28 
			 2003 27 25 31 29 
			 2004 31 29 28 26 
			 2005 28 27 32 29 
			  Notes: 1. Years are calendar years. 2. Latest complete year information is to December 2005. 3. A person is defined as leaving new deal for young people and new deal 25-plus to sustained employment if they do not return to claim jobseeker's allowance within 13 weeks. 4. Information for leavers from new deal 25-plus is only available for April 2001 onwards.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate.

Parents: Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of payments to  (a) single parents receiving benefits and  (b) single parents in work in each year since 1997; and on what basis the figures are calculated.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the tables. Any further breakdown of DWP expenditure for those single parents in work could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	In 1999, working families' tax credits replaced family credit. Information about tax credits is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
	
		
			  Benefit expenditure on single parents in Great Britain, cash terms 
			  £ million 
			  Outturn  Income support  Widowed parent's allowance—basic  Widowed parent's allowance—additional pension  Housing benefit  Council tax benefit  Family credit 
			 1997-98 4,106 149 60 2,614 424 1,104 
			 1998-99 3,941 147 61 2,654 442 1,220 
			 1999-2000 3,963 151 65 2,731 458 971 
			 2000-01 4,334 149 69 2,648 450 0 
			 2001-02 4,520 175 77 2,679 450 0 
			 2002-03 4,626 182 79 2,863 461 0 
			 2003-04 4,854 189 76 2,963 531 0 
			 2004-05 4,452 193 70 3,215 568 0 
			 2005-06 3,776 203 66 3,454 608 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Benefit expenditure on single parents in Great Britain; real terms( ) (2006-07 prices) 
			  £ million 
			  Outturn  Income support  Widowed parent's allowance—basic  Widowed parent's allowance—additional pension  Housing benefit  Council tax benefit  Family credit 
			 1997-98 5,089 185 74 3,240 525 1,369 
			 1998-99 4,764 177 74 3,208 535 1,475 
			 1999-2000 4,695 179 77 3,236 543 1,150 
			 2000-01 5,064 175 81 3,094 525 0 
			 2001-02 5,159 200 88 3,058 514 0 
			 2002-03 5,122 201 87 3,170 510 0 
			 2003-04 5,219 203 81 3,185 570 0 
			 2004-05 4,658 202 74 3,364 595 0 
			 2005-06 3,877 208 67 3,547 624 0 
			  Notes:  1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest million.  2. All figures are consistent with the 2006 pre-budget report.  3. Expenditure figures exclude single parents who are primarily claiming for another reason, for example who are sick or disabled.  4. Widowed parent's allowance replaced widowed mother's allowance from April 2001. For ease of reference, both are included in the relevant column.  5. Figures do not include child benefit paid to single parents, as the data do not distinguish between parents who are single or part of a couple, unless they also received the lone parent addition, which was not received by all single parents.  6. Benefits with small amounts of expenditure are not included.  7. From the early 1990s, family credit was paid to qualifying families who worked full time, that is at least 16 hours each week.  8. Family credit was replaced by working families' tax credit in October 1999.   Source:  Figures are based on DWP accounting data combined with statistical data to identify the proportion of expenditure paid to single parents.

Pensioners: Property

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of  (a) the proportion of pensioners who will own their own homes in (i) 10, (ii) 20, (iii) 30, (iv) 40 and (v) 50 years' time and  (b) the number of pensioners who will not own their own home in retirement in each year.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not have projections of the proportion of pensioners who will own their own homes in the future. It is possible to present historic figures only for the proportion of pensioner households who owned their own homes.
	The figures in the table tabulate housing tenure for households with a head of household who is a pensioner for the years 1995-96 to 2005-06 as reported through the Survey of English Housing:
	
		
			  Pensioner households in England by tenure, 1995-96 to 2005-06 
			   Housing tenure (number)  
			   Owner-occupiers  Social renters  Private renters  Total  Owner-occupier pensioner households (percentage) 
			 1995-96 3,437 1,747 326 5,511 62 
			 1996-97 3,514 1,685 310 5,509 64 
			 1997-98 3,598 1,630 294 5,522 65 
			 1998-99 3,594 1,595 303 5,492 65 
			 1999-2000 3,673 1,527 284 5,485 67 
			 2000-01 3,645 1,541 255 5,442 67 
			 2001-02 3,831 1,450 238 5,520 69 
			 2002-03 3,811 1,501 264 5,577 68 
			 2003-04 3,943 1,423 261 5,626 70 
			 2004-05 4,008 1,353 264 5,625 71 
			 2005-06 4,113 1,349 248 5,710 72 
			  Note:  Pensioner households in this context are defined as those households where the head of household (1995-06 to 2000-01) or the household reference person (2001-02 to 2005-06) were male aged 65+ or female aged 60+).   Source:  Survey of English Housing.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many existing private pension scheme members he estimates have total contributions (employer and employee gross) of less than  (a) £5,000 per annum,  (b) £6,000 per annum,  (c) £7,500 per annum and  (d) £10,000 per annum.

James Purnell: In the White Paper 'Personal accounts: a new way to save', the Government proposed an annual limit of £5,000 on contributions into personal accounts. My Department is currently consulting on whether this limit strikes the right balance between focussing personal accounts on the target market, and allowing sufficient flexibility for those personal accounts savers who wish to make additional contributions to meet their retirement aims.
	Figures showing the number of employees who are pension scheme members and have total pension contributions (employer and employee) in the requested bands are presented in the following table.
	
		
			  Total Annual Pension Contribution (employer and employee)  Number of employees (million) 
			 Less than £5,000 8.1 
			 £5,000 to £5,999 1.0 
			 £6,000 to £7,499 1.1 
			 £7,500 to £9,999 0.7 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Office for National Statistics). 2005 is the latest year for which the data are available. The coverage of the survey is Great Britain. 2. The figures include employees aged 16 to State Pension age. 3. The figures cover all pension schemes including occupational pension schemes (defined benefit schemes and defined contribution schemes), Group Personal Pension schemes, Stakeholder pension schemes and those where the pension category was unknown.  Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2005

Social Security Benefits: North East Region

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in  (a) Gateshead, East and Washington, West,  (b) Tyne and Wear and  (c) the North East Region have been receiving (i) incapacity benefit and (ii) jobseeker's allowance for (A) under six months, (B) six months to one year, (C) one to two years and (D) over two years.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Jobseeker's allowance claimants in Gateshead, East and Washington, West parliamentary constituency, Tyne and Wear and Government office for the north-east region as at May 2006 
			   Up to 6 months  6 months to 1 year  1 to 2 years  2 years and over 
			 Gateshead, East and Washington, West 975 200 105 20 
			 Tyne and Wear 15,650 4,365 2,590 815 
			 North East GOR 33,245 9,845 5,570 1,945 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five. 2. Tyne and Wear comprises the local authority areas of Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and Sunderland.  Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems (computer held cases only). 
		
	
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in Gateshead, East and Washington, West parliamentary constituency, Tyne and Wear and Government office for the north-east region as at May 2006 
			   Up to 6 months  6 months to 1 year  1 to 2 years  2 years and over 
			 Gateshead, East and Washington, West 460 300 440 4,410 
			 Tyne and Wear 6,310 3,870 6,000 57,780 
			 North East GOR 13,630 8,600 13,660 135,080 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are shown rounded to the 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. 'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit (IB), severe disablement allowance and IB credits-only cases. 3. Tyne and Wear comprises the local authority areas of Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and Sunderland.  Source: DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

State Retirement Pensions

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2007,  Official Report, column 401W, on the state retirement pension, how many state retirement pension applications were waiting to be processed on 31 December for each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  State pension applications registered on the system waiting to be processed 
			  Statistical period  Number 
			 At the end of December 2005 52,603 
			 At the end of December 2006 54,099 
		
	
	Prior to 2005 the data are not robust enough to provide an accurate figure.

Workless Households

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of children lived in workless households in Lancashire in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006; and what percentage of children lived in workless households with (i) a lone parent, (ii) at least one parent claiming incapacity benefit and (iii) at least one parent claiming an income-related social security benefit in that period.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the table.
	To measure progress relating to children in workless households (CIWH), the Department uses the Household Labour Force Survey. However it is not possible to disaggregate this data below Government Office Region.
	The information in the following table uses administrative data to provide the number and proportions of children dependent on workless benefits in Lancashire local authority. Data is not held for 1997 so 2004 has been added for comparison.
	The official definition of a CIWH is a child aged under 16 in a working age household where no adult works. The administrative data is an inexact proxy for this as it charts all children under 16 in a working age household who have at least one parent claiming workless benefits.
	The administrative data fails to incorporate in its definition workless adults who do not claim benefits. It also differs from the standard CIWH definition in that it includes children in households with both working and non-working adults, as opposed to a household with no working adults.
	The information on those claiming an income-related social security benefit is not available.
	
		
			  Children aged 0-15 dependent on workless benefits (income support, jobseeker's allowance, pension credit, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance) in Lancashire local authority. 
			2004  2006 
			 Total (claiming at least one workless benefit) Number 43,235 38,915 
			  Percent 19.4 17.7 
			 With lone parent on workless benefits Number 32,360 29,395 
			  Percent 14.5 13.4 
			 With at least one parent on incapacity benefit Number 13,975 12,895 
			  Percent 6.3 5.9 
			  Notes: 1. All figures supplied have been rounded to protect the confidentiality of claimants. 2. All data represent a snapshot in time of claimants on the computer system, and will therefore exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically. 3. Data represents children dependent on a parent or guardian claiming one or more of the following benefits: Incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, jobseeker's allowance, income support or pension credit. 4. Due to the introduction of child tax credits in April 2003, information on child dependents are not reliably completed on the benefit computer system. Therefore children have been merged onto IS/JSA/IB/SDA/PC claims from child Benefit with permission of HMRC. 5. The total numbers of children on child benefit has been used as the denominator for the percentages given.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate

Workplace Accidents

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many deaths there were from accidents in the workplace in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: The figures requested are set out as follows.
	
		
			  Fatal injuries to workers and members of the public 2001-02 to 2005-06( 1)  as reported to all enforcing authorities 
			   Workers  Members of the public 
			 2001-02 251 393 
			 2002-03 227 396 
			 2003-04 236 374 
			 2004-05 223 370 
			 2005-06(1) 212 384 
			 (1)Provisional. 
		
	
	There has been a general downward trend in the rate of UK work-related fatal injuries over the last five years, with 2005-06 showing the lowest rate per 100,000 of workers on record. Last year also recorded the lowest number of fatally injured workers on record. The rise in 2003-04—was almost entirely due to the tragic Morecambe Bay incident in which 21 cockle pickers drowned.
	There has been a significant improvement in the number of fatalities in the construction industry, and in the overall number of deaths resulting from falls in the workplace; both of which were the lowest on record in 2005-06.
	Within the European Union, Great Britain now has the lowest rate of workplace fatal injury per 100,000 workers
	I, and the HSC remain committed to reducing the number of people killed or injured as a result of their work activities. These figures show the benefit of good health and safety regulation, sensibly applied.

Roads: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving  (a) trains,  (b) buses and  (c) private hire vehicles there were in Chorley in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is given in the table. No information is available for private hire vehicles.
	
		
			  Number of accidents involving trains or buses in Chorley: 2001-05 
			   Trains( 1)  Buses( 2) 
			 2001 2 7 
			 2002 1 8 
			 2003 1 7 
			 2004 4 11 
			 2005 1 7 
			 (1 )Includes: Train accidents—collisions, derailments, trains running into obstructions and missile damage to drivers cab windscreens. Movement accidents—Injuries to people either struck by trains or injured on board trains. (2 )Buses (include coaches) carrying 17 or more passengers involved in reported personal injury road accidents.

Roads: Suffolk

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many road traffic accidents occurred on the A14 in Suffolk in each year since 1997, broken down by the day of the week on which the accident occurred;
	(2)  how many road traffic accidents occurred in Suffolk in each year since 1997, broken down by the day of the week on which the accident occurred.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of reported personal injury road accidents on the A14 in Suffolk and in the county of Suffolk in each year from 1997 to 2005 is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of road accidents, by day of the week on the A14 in Suffolk, 1997- 2005 
			   Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday  Thursday  Friday  Saturday  Sunday 
			 1997 16 19 22 15 16 20 20 
			 1998 18 16 20 11 22 18 18 
			 1999 22 20 17 14 17 16 16 
			 2000 19 27 24 28 14 15 11 
			 2001 17 17 22 23 21 22 16 
			 2002 26 28 20 20 27 21 15 
			 2003 22 22 23 23 14 11 13 
			 2004 17 20 25 23 21 20 17 
			 2005 18 23 33 16 28 15 17 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of road accidents, by day of the week: Suffolk, 1997- 2005 
			   Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday  Thursday  Friday  Saturday  Sunday 
			 1997 308 328 357 323 385 295 228 
			 1998 328 337 331 310 374 330 241 
			 1999 339 340 327 327 362 314 289 
			 2000 309 319 334 355 427 327 241 
			 2001 382 348 338 328 386 332 242 
			 2002 335 328 314 375 380 321 247 
			 2003 356 343 308 356 393 298 287 
			 2004 289 310 349 374 353 301 244 
			 2005 337 319 361 325 377 283 235

Roads: Suffolk

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many road traffic  (a) accidents and  (b) fatalities occurred on the A14 in Suffolk between the hours of 8pm and 8am in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many road traffic  (a) accidents and  (b) fatalities occurred in Suffolk between the hours of 8pm and 8am in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of reported personal injury road accidents and the resulting fatalities on the A14 in Suffolk and the county of Suffolk between the hours of 8 pm and 8 am in each year from 1997-2005 is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of road accidents and fatalities on the A14 in Suffolk between the hours of 8 pm and 8 am: 1997-2005 
			   Accidents  Fatalities 
			 1997 29 3 
			 1998 23 1 
			 1999 26 1 
			 2000 33 4 
			 2001 39 5 
			 2002 50 3 
			 2003 36 1 
			 2004 37 3 
			 2005 42 2 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of road accidents and fatalities in Suffolk between the hours of 8 pm and 8 am: 1997-2005 
			   Accidents  Fatalities 
			 1997 519 15 
			 1998 526 4 
			 1999 518 22 
			 2000 502 21 
			 2001 553 18 
			 2002 543 19 
			 2003 566 20 
			 2004 518 16 
			 2005 530 19

Afghanistan and Iraq: Human Rights

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many issues have been raised with the Government by the International Committee for the Red Cross in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq; how many of the issues raised (i) related to the UK forces and (ii) were communicated to the UK in its role as a member of the multinational forces; how many detainees were the subject of issues raised; whether the Government has responded in each case; whether the International Committee for the Red Cross has declared itself to the Government as dissatisfied with the response or raised the issue again subsequently; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: As my hon. Friend is aware from the previous written answer I gave to him on 3 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1654W and the answer my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Bill Rammell) gave to him on 16 November 2004,  Official Report, column 1340W, we and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regard the contents our frequent contacts with them, including on Iraq and Afghanistan, as confidential. We would not wish to break with this customary practice as it would risk undermining the ICRC's work in other countries. This principle of confidentiality allows the ICRC to remain impartial, gain repeated and unrestricted access to prisoners, and urge detaining authorities to make any improvements that may be necessary.
	We value our excellent, constructive and co-operative relationship with the ICRC.

British Overseas Territories: Official Cars

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what make of cars are made available to the governor of each of the UK's overseas territories.

Geoff Hoon: Governors of the overseas territories have a car provided as their official vehicle, either by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) or by the territory government. The FCO currently provides the official vehicles for Governors in Turks and Caicos Islands (Providenciales only), Anguilla, Gibraltar and Montserrat. The make of car provided in each territory is as follows:
	
		
			   Car make 
			 Anguilla Rover 
			 Bermuda BMW 
			 British Virgin Islands Lexus 
			 Cayman Islands Cadillac 
			 Falkland Islands Landrover 
			 Gibraltar Jaguar 
			 Montserrat Toyota 
			 Pitcairn —(1) 
			 St. Helena Rover 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands Landrover on Providenciales and a Ford on Grand Turk 
			 (1) Governor is non-resident.

Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who she expects to represent the UK at the non-proliferation treaty preparatory committee meeting in Geneva in May.

Kim Howells: The UK delegation to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty preparatory committee in Vienna in May will be headed by Ambassador John Duncan, the United Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He will be accompanied by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Trade and Industry. No decision has yet been made on Ministerial attendance.

Anti-psychotic Drugs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adverse reaction reports were received through the yellow card reporting system for  (a) all anti-psychotic drugs,  (b) traditional anti-psychotic drugs and  (c) atypical anti-psychotic drugs since 31 March 2006; how many prescriptions there were for each type of drug for those aged (i) 60 to 64, (ii) 65 to 74 and (iii) 75 years and over; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme.
	The anti-psychotic drugs are used in the treatment of schizophrenia and as with all marketed drugs their safety is continually monitored by the MHRA and the CHM.
	The following table shows the number of suspected ADR reports received by the MHRA between 31 March 2006 and 31 December 2006 where an anti-psychotic drug was listed as being suspect.
	
		
			  Number of suspected ADR reports received by the MHRA between 31 March and 31 December 2006 
			   Number 
			 All anti-psychotics 1,529 
			 Atypical anti-psychotics *1,431 
			 Traditional anti-psychotics *107 
			  Note: The total ADR reports all anti-psychotics will not be equal to the sum of both atypical and traditional anti-psychotics; an individual ADR report may provide more than one drug as suspect and therefore may appear in more than one column. 
		
	
	The submission of a suspected ADR report does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the drug. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease.
	Of the total 1,529 reports, 729 list Clozaril (active constituent, clozapine) as a suspect drug. Clozapine can cause agranulocytosis, which is a severe reduction in the number of white blood cells and can be potentially life threatening if it is not detected and appropriately treated. In order to reduce this risk, the Marketing Authorisation holders are obliged to collect information from the Clozapine Patient Monitoring Scheme and report changes in blood counts to the MHRA via the Yellow card Scheme.
	The incidence of agranulocytosis and the fatality rate in those developing agranulocytosis have decreased markedly since the introduction of this monitoring scheme and the need for regular blood tests during treatment.
	The table shows the number of prescriptions that have been dispensed in the community in England for elderly people. This data covers the period April to November 2006.
	The MHRA does not hold data broken down by age group and so data has been provided for elderly patients which are defined as those over the age of 60.
	Prescriptions for the elderly are based on a one in 20 sample and the figures have been rounded to reflect this. Please see the notes to the following table for more information on this.
	The following table shows the number of prescriptions that have been dispensed in the community in England for elderly people.
	
		
			  Anti-psychotic items dispensed as elderly exemptions from April to November 2006 
			   Number 
			 Atypical anti-psychotics (BNF 4.2.1) 964,000 
			 Typical anti-psychotics (BNF 4.2.1) 667,000 
			 Anti-psychotic depot injections (BNF 4.2.2) 24,000 
			 All anti-psychotics 1,655,000 
			  Note: The exemption data is identified from the box ticked on the back of the prescription form and relies on the form being completed correctly which may not always be the case. Information for categories that are not required to pay a charge (e.g. children) is based on a one in 20 sample of all exempt prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists, appliance contractors and dispensing doctors. The information we have is therefore an estimate and subject to sampling errors. To reflect this we have rounded the exemption figures appropriately—figures less than 1,000 are shown as "*"; figures between 1,000 and 100,000 have been rounded to the nearest 1,000 and figures between 100,000 and 1 million have been rounded to the nearest 10,000. Data for total of all ages has not been rounded since it is not exemption data. Due to rounding, the sum of the components may not equal the totals.

Birth Rate

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the birthrate was in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 February 2007:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about the birth rate in the UK in each of the last 10 years. (121532)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2005; the table below shows the birth rate for each year between 1996 and 2005 and also the total period fertility rate, which takes into account the age structure of the population.
	
		
			  Birth rate and total period fertility rate, United Kingdom, 1996 to 2005 
			   Birth rate  Total period fertility rate 
			 1996 12.6 1.73 
			 1997 12.5 1.72 
			 1998 12.3 1.71 
			 1999 11.9 1.68 
			 2000 11.5 1.64 
			 2001 11.3 1.63 
			 2002 11.3 1.64 
			 2003 11.7 1.71 
			 2004 12.0 1.77 
			 2005 12.0 1.79 
			  Notes: 1. The crude birth rate is the number of live births per thousand population. 2. The total period fertility rate is the average number of children that a woman would have if she experienced the age-specific fertility rates for a particular year throughout her childbearing life. 3. In calculating these rates, figures for live births in England and Wales relate to numbers occurring in each calendar year, while for Scotland and Northern Ireland figures relate to numbers of live births registered in each calendar year.

Dental Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were served by dentists who have ceased providing NHS dental care since the introduction of the new contract; and what percentage has found alternative NHS provision.

Rosie Winterton: The information in this form is not available centrally. Data collected from primary care trusts (PCTs) shows that, as of 30 November 2006, the overall additional dental services commissioned by PCTs using resources from closed national health service contracts exceeded the overall level of services that would have been provided under those closed contracts.

Departments: Assets

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 801-4W, on departmental fixed assets, which fixed assets her Department has sold so far for more than £10,000 in 2006-07; and what the  (a) sale value,  (b) purchaser and  (c) date of sale was of each asset.

Andy Burnham: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Land sales from the Department's retained estate in 2006-07 (to 31 January 2007) 
			  Property  Sale value (£000)  Purchaser  Date of sale 
			 11 Edith Road, London 247 K. Mahmood and T Khalid October 2006 
			 Bridge Wharf, London 36 Amicus Horizon Group Ltd. December 2006 
			 48 Park Road, Maidstone 170 S. and G. Johnson and T. Mukaddam July 2006 
			 31 Pathfields, Shere 210 Mount Green Housing Association January 2007 
			 40 Princes Road, Redhill 162 R. Gobin May 2006 
			 42 Princes Road, Redhill 150 R. Gobin July 2006 
			 9 Princes Road, Redhill 200 S. Sim May 2006 
			 Orchard Field, Virginia Water 4,420 Charles Church January 2007 
			 42 Redan Road, Aldershot 142 D. Kingston May 2006 
			 44 Redan Road, Aldershot 149 D. Lyne May 2006 
			 Hollywood Lodge, Epsom 1,200 Carmarthen Holdings Ltd. July 2006 
			 Eastwood Park, Falfield 3,010 Eastwood Park Ltd. May 2006 
			 9 Highbury Villas, Bristol 244 J. Rhys Jones October 2006 
			 Oakleigh, Plymouth 225 Brook Housing Association August 2006 
			 Okehampton Castle Hospital, Okehampton 450 Guinness Trust June 2006 
			 57 Park Road, Loughborough 325 Messrs Chowdhury November 2006 
			 Land at Sedgefield 26 G. Hancock September 2006 
			 Fieldside, Workington 70 Cumbria County Council May 2006 
			 Land at St. Catherine's, Doncaster 625 Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries April 2006 
			 Compton Hospice, Wolverhampton 28 Compton Hospice Ltd. September 2006 
			 Broseley Hospital, Broseley 18 The Lady Forrester Hospital Trust December 2006 
			 Wellington Cottage Hospital, Telford 245 Wellington and District Cottage Care Centre Trust January 2007 
		
	
	Portfolio transfer to English Partnerships as part of a further payment of £40 million: St. Margaret's Hospital, Epping.

Hospitals: Admissions

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mean length of stay was for patients admitted to hospital in each year from 1997-98 to 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			   Mean length of stay (days) 
			 1997-98 8.8 
			 1998-99 8.4 
			 1999-2000 7.7 
			 2000-01 8.2 
			 2001-02 8.1 
			 2002-03 7.9 
			 2003-04 7 
			 2004-05 7.1 
			 2005-06 6.6 
			  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) mean and  (b) median waiting times were as provided by data drawn from hospital episode statistics in each year from 1993-94 to 2005-06; and what the commissioner-based (i) mean and (ii) median waiting times were as provided by NHS organisations' monthly returns to her Department in each year.

Andy Burnham: The figures are shown in the table:
	
		
			  Inpatient mean and medians in weeks from 1994 
			   Korner aggregate returns (stock)  Hospital episode statistics (flow) 
			  Year ending  Median commissioner  Mean commissioner  Median provider  Mean provider 
			 March 1994 14.4 20.2 5.9 13.0 
			 March 1995 12.5 17.8 6.1 12.9 
			 March 1996 11.8 15.9 6.0 12.6 
			 March 1997 13.2 18.1 5.7 11.8 
			 March 1998 14.9 20.0 5.9 12.8 
			 March 1999 12.9 18.6 6.4 14.1 
			 March 2000 12.9 18.7 6.1 12.9 
			 March 2001 12.6 18.1 6.3 13.3 
			 March 2002 12.7 17.4 6.7 13.7 
			 March 2003 11.9 15.6 7.0 14.1 
			 March 2004 10.2 12.4 7.1 13.6 
			 March 2005 8.5 10.6 7.4 12.0 
			 March 2006 7.3 8.7 7.3 11.1 
			 December 2006 7.4 8.7 n/a n/a 
			  Notes:  1. HES figures relate to patients admitted during financial year ending March.  2. Korner figures relate to numbers waiting as at 31 March (or at 31 December for the current figures).   Source:  QF01 return, HES.

Mental Health Services: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service budget was in each of the last five years, broken down by category of expenditure.

Ivan Lewis: Information on ear-marked funding is contained in the table. Both revenue and capital funding are in addition to the general allocations to the national health service and local authorities.
	The child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) mapping exercise for 2005 found that in 2004-05 the total spend on specialist CAMHS by the national health service and local authorities was £431 million. Further information on expenditure on CAMHS can be found at:
	www.camhsmapping.org.uk/2005
	
		
			  Department of Health CAMHS funding 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			  £ million 
			   NHS revenue  NHS capital  Personal social services revenue 
			 2002-03 — — 20 
			 2003-04 — — 51 
			 2004-05 20 20 67 
			 2005-06 50 20 91 
			 2006-07 (1)— 32 91 
			 (1) In 2006-07, resources were made available to SHAs for CAMHS as part of a larger bundle of revenue funding for the NHS.  Source: Department of Health

Mentally Ill: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many in-patients in each London Mental Health Trust were  (a) voluntary inpatients and  (b) under section orders in 2005-06.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested as the data does not record whether a patient is voluntary or under a section order.
	The following table shows how many patients were detained under the Mental Health Act for all London mental health trusts in 2004-05, which is the latest available data.
	
		
			  Patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 or other Acts as at 31 March 2005 by trust 
			  Trust  Total male  Total female  Total 
			 North East London mental health national health service trust 72 46 118 
			 West London mental health NHS trust 592 151 743 
			 Baits and The London NHS trust * ? * 
			 South West London and St. George's mental health NHS trust 167 97 264 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey mental health NHS trust 265 108 373 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS foundation trust * ? * 
			 Central and North West London mental health NHS trust 167 130 297 
			 South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust 310 143 453 
			 East London and The City mental health NHS trust 241 92 333 
			 Camden and Islington mental health and social care trust 134 93 227

A-level: Hendon

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the A and AS-level results were in Hendon in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The average point score per candidate and per examination entry for 16 to 18-year-old A-level (or equivalent) candidates in maintained mainstream schools and academies in Hendon is given as follows:
	
		
			   Average point score 
			   Per candidate  Per examination entry 
			  1997   
			 Hendon 15.8 5.4 
			 England 17.3 5.3 
			
			  2006   
			 Hendon 735.1 213.5 
			 England 721.5 206.2 
		
	
	This information is consistent with that published in the school and college achievement and attainment tables (formerly performance tables) in 1997 and in 2006. The points tariff used for each of these years is different and the range of qualifications that contribute to the average point score indicators is also different.
	The points awarded for A-level grades in 1997 and 2006 are given as follows:
	
		
			  Grade  1997  2006 
			 A 10 270 
			 B 8 240 
			 C 6 210 
			 D 4 180 
			 E 2 150 
		
	
	In 1997, only GCE A-levels and AS examinations contributed to the average point scores published in the school and college achievement and attainment tables. In 2006, many more level 3 qualifications have been included, details of which are available at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables/16to18_06/d3.shtml

Building Schools for the Future

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much funding from the Building Schools for the Future programme was been allocated to  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools in the last two years;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated to the Buildings Schools for the Future programme since it was established;
	(3)  how many schools have received funding from the Building Schools for the Future programme, broken down by county.

Jim Knight: Building Schools for the Future is designed to bring about transformational change across the secondary schools' estate over time and will be rolled out over 15 waves, subject to future spending decisions. When local authorities join the programme they, in conjunction with their schools and other local partners, are required to develop a "Strategy for Change" to ensure their plans support the drive for educational improvement. The first three waves of the programme involve 372 schools and is being supported by £6.5 billion of capital resources from the current spending review period of 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. The following table shows the number of schools currently in the programme, broken down by local authority area.
	
		
			  Local authority  Number of schools 
			 Bradford 10 
			 Barnsley 13 
			 Birmingham 12 
			 Bristol 4 
			 Derbyshire 7 
			 Durham 8 
			 Gateshead 2 
			 Greenwich 5 
			 Hackney 10 
			 Haringey 8 
			 Islington 12 
			 Kent 12 
			 Kingston upon Hull 23 
			 Knowsley 10 
			 Lambeth 5 
			 Lancashire 11 
			 Leeds 14 
			 Leicester 19 
			 Lewisham 12 
			 Liverpool 11 
			 Luton 8 
			 Manchester 16 
			 Middlesbrough 8 
			 North Lincolnshire 11 
			 Newcastle 10 
			 Newham 16 
			 Nottingham 8 
			 Salford 12 
			 Sandwell 7 
			 Sheffield 10 
			 Solihull 5 
			 Southwark 10 
			 South Tyneside 12 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 24 
			 Sunderland 8 
			 Tameside 14 
			 Tower Hamlets 8 
			 Waltham Forest 7 
			 Westminster 10 
		
	
	You will be aware that the Government committed to provide a new secondary school in each local authority in the country by 2011. This will be through Building Schools for the Future, the Academy programme or the BSF One School Pathfinder programme. Over £1 billion has been allocated to the 38 authorities within the one school pathfinder element of the BSF programme. The following authorities have been allocated funding to rebuild one of its schools with the highest level of building need: Barnet, Bath and North East Somerset, Bexley, Bracknell Forest, Bromley, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, East Sussex, Gloucestershire, Harrow, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Kingston upon Thames, Leicestershire, North Somerset, North Yorkshire, Plymouth, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Rutland, Sefton, Shropshire, South Gloucestershire, Southend on Sea, Sutton, Torbay, Trafford, Warrington, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Wigan, Wiltshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wirral, Wokingham, York.
	Primary schools are not covered by Building Schools for the Future. However we are taking a similarly transformational approach to capital investment for the primary sector. Funding for the pathfinder phase of the Primary Capital programme will commence in 2008-09 with £150 million of additional funding being shared among 23 regional pathfinders. The programme will be rolled out nationally from 2009-10 underpinned by £500 million of additional investment. Subject to future government spending decisions, we anticipate that the additional investment will continue at that level for at least 15 years.
	In addition to our strategic programmes, all local authorities and schools receive formulaic capital support for their local priorities, which currently totals more than £2 billion a year.

Curriculum: Assessments

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 14 year old  (a) boys and  (b) girls reached level 5 in the national curriculum tests in (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) science in each year since 2002.

Jim Knight: The requested information is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Boys  
			 English 59 62 64 67 65 
			 Mathematics 67 70 72 73 76 
			 Science 67 68 65 69 71 
			   
			  Girls  
			 English 76 76 78 81 80 
			 Mathematics 68 72 74 74 77 
			 Science 67 69 67 70 73 
			   
			  All pupils  
			 English 67 69 71 74 72 
			 Mathematics 67 71 73 74 77 
			 Science 67 68 66 70 72

Education Maintenance Allowance

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of the education maintenance allowance scheme in encouraging 16 to 18 year olds to stay on in further education.

Phil Hope: The June 2006 participation figures(1) showed increases over the past two years of 4.5 percentage points for 16 year olds and 3.4 percentage points for 17 year olds, participating in full-time education This highlighted that the total number of 16-18 year olds in education was at the highest ever level. Whilst it is not possible to say that all of the increase was due to education maintenance allowance (EMA), this was one of the most important initiatives aimed at increasing participation.
	EMA has been particularly effective in engaging some of our most vulnerable young people such as teenage parents and is now helping those who for no fault of their own are estranged from their families. EMA has its biggest impact where it is most needed?among those from less well off households, those from an ethnic minority background and among boys, closing the gender gap.
	The national EMA scheme was rolled out to 16 year olds in the 2004-05 academic year. The phased roll-out out meant it wasn't fully available nationally to the 16-18 cohort until 2006-07 academic year.
	(1 )SFR (June 2006), Participation in Education. Training and Employment by 16-18 year olds in England 2004 and 2005 DfES, SFR 21/2006

Education: Standards

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of  (a) all pupils and  (b) pupils receiving free school meals achieved level five in mathematics, English and science combined at key stage three in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The requested information is as follows:
	The table shows the percentage of pupils at maintained schools who have achieved level five or above in English, mathematics and science grouped as shown.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 
			 All pupils 54 58 59 61 63 
			 Pupils eligible for free school meals 27 30 31 34 37 
			  Note: Pupil characteristics data, including FSM eligibility, was collected at a pupil level for the first time in 2002. Prior to 2002 this information was collected at an aggregated school level and hence cannot be linked to individual level attainment data. 
		
	
	Schools with highest proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals are continuing to close the attainment gap. Since 1998, schools where more than half of pupils are eligible for free school meals have improved by 25 percentage points in English compared with a nine percentage point improvement for schools with fewer than one in 10 pupils who are eligible for free school meals.

Education: Standards

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of  (a) all pupils and  (b) pupils receiving free school meals achieved level four in reading, writing and arithmetic combined at Key Stage two in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The requested information is in the following table.
	The following table shows the percentage of pupils at maintained schools who have achieved Level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics grouped as shown.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   All pupils  Pupils eligible for free school meals 
			 2002 53 32 
			 2003 53 32 
			 2004 56 35 
			 2005 56 35 
			 2006 59 38 
			  Note: Pupil characteristics data, including FSM eligibility, was collected at a pupil level for the first time in 2002. Prior to 2002 this information was collected at an aggregated school level and hence cannot be linked to individual level attainment data 
		
	
	Schools with highest proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals are continuing to close the attainment gap. Since 1997, schools where more than half of pupils are eligible for free school meals have improved by 22 percentage points in English compared with a 10 percentage point improvement for schools with fewer than 1 in 10 pupils who are eligible for free school meals. A large proportion have benefited from receiving targeted support through the Primary National Strategy's Intensifying Support Programme for low attaining schools. Schools in the programme improved their results at double the rate of other primary schools?by nearly 2 percentage points in English and over 3 percentage points in mathematics.

Free School Meals

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of pupils in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas (i) qualify for and (ii) receive free school meals; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools( 1) : school meal arrangements by schools' urban/rural classification2,  as at January 2006, England 
			   Maintained nursery and primary schools  Maintained secondary schools 
			   Urban( 3)  Rural( 4)  Total  Urban( 3)  Rural( 4)  Total 
			 Number of pupils on roll(5) 3,459,080 728,540 4,187,630 2,864,410 445,310 3,309,720 
			 Number of pupils who took a free school meal on the census day 516,460 39,720 556,180 306,810 21,940 328,750 
			 Percentage of pupils who took a free school meal on the census day 14.9 5.5 13.3 10.7 4.9 9.9 
			 Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 622,740 47,600 670,340 418,920 29,760 448,680 
			 Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 18.0 6.5 16.0 14.6 6.7 13.6 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Schools have been classified as being in either an urban or rural area by matching their school postcode to the Rural and Urban Area Classification 2004 indicator held within the May 2006 National Statistics Postcode Directory. Areas are classified as urban or rural at the Census Output Area (COA) level, and postcodes are classified according to the status of the COA in which they are located. (3) Includes schools in Urban >10k (sparse and less sparse) classifications. (4) Includes schools in the following classifications: Hamlet and Isolated Dwelling (sparse and less sparse), Town and Fringe (sparse and less sparse), Village (sparse and less sparse). (5) Includes pupils with sole and dual (main) registration. Also includes boarding pupils.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.  Source: Pupil numbers by school meal arrangements—Schools' Census. Urban/Rural Classification—derived from the Urban/Rural Classification 2004. Produced in conjunction with The Countryside Agency, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Office of National Statistics and Welsh Assembly Government.

GCSEs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 15-year-olds took both history and geography at GCSE in schools in the independent sector in each year since 1996.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the percentage of 15-year-old pupils(1) in independent schools attempting a GCSE at both history and geography in each year since 1996.
	
		
			  15-year-old pupils( 1)  entered for GCSE geography and history 
			   Percentage 
			 1996 25.7 
			 1997 24.5 
			 1998 23.8 
			 1999 21.7 
			 2000 21.0 
			 2001 21.1 
			 2002 21.3 
			 2003 20.0 
			 2004 19.9 
			 2005 20.3 
			 2006(2) 19.7 
			 (1) Pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August. (2) Data for 2006 are revised. Data for all other years are final.

GCSEs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of students achieved five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English, mathematics, science and a modern language in each school in West Sussex in 2006;
	(2)  if he will list the top 200 maintained schools in terms of the proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English, mathematics, science and a modern foreign language in 2006.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the proportion of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4(1) achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalents at grades A*-C including English, mathematics, science and a modern foreign language for each school in West Sussex local authority in 2006.
	(1) Pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in the 2005/06 academic year.
	
		
			  Pupils achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalents at grades A*-C including English, mathematics, science and a modern foreign language 
			  Name  Institution type( 1)  Total pupils  Percentage 
			 Abbotsford Community Special School CYS 7 0.0 
			 Angmering School, The CY 256 17.6 
			 Ardingly College IND 85 76.5 
			 Ashton Park School IND 7 0.0 
			 Bishop Luffa Church of England School, Chichester VA 217 53.9 
			 Bognor Regis Community College(2) CY 308 11.4 
			 Boundstone Community College CY 251 6.0 
			 Bourne Community College CY 141 14.9 
			 Burgess Hill School for Girls IND 58 98.3 
			 Chatsmore Catholic High School VA 139 17.3 
			 Chichester High School for Boys CY 235 14.5 
			 Chichester High School for Girls CY 246 36.6 
			 Christ's Hospital IND 120 90.8 
			 Cornfield School, Littlehampton(2) CYS 11 0.0 
			 Court Meadow School, Cuckfield CYS 7 0.0 
			 Davison Church of England High School for Girls, Worthing VC 272 46.7 
			 Downlands Community School CY 189 40.2 
			 Durrington High School CY 357 12.3 
			 Education Centre, The IND 17 0.0 
			 Farlington School IND 62 87.1 
			 Farney Close School INDSS 14 0.0 
			 Felpham Community College(2) CY 241 30.3 
			 Fordwater School, Chichester CYS 7 0.0 
			 Forest School CY 149 37.6 
			 Gleniffer House Residential School IND (3)— (3)— 
			 Hazelwick School CY 382 28.0 
			 Hillcrest Slinfold IND (3)— (3)— 
			 Holy Trinity CofE Secondary School, Crawley VA 202 30.2 
			 Hurstpierpoint College IND 83 83.1 
			 Ifield Community College CY 158 12.7 
			 Imberhorne School CY 266 53.8 
			 King's Manor Community College CY 264 10.2 
			 Lancing College IND 91 81.3 
			 Lavant House IND 20 50.0 
			 Littlehampton Community School, The(2) CY 357 10.9 
			 Manhood Community College CY 99 6.1 
			 Manor Green College CYS 22 0.0 
			 Midhurst Grammar School VC 238 26.1 
			 Millais School CY 298 56.7 
			 Muntham House School NMSS 8 0.0 
			 Newick House School CYS 27 0.0 
			 Oakgrove College CYS 53 1.9 
			 Oakmeeds Community College CY 220 29.1 
			 Oathall Community College CY 265 34.7 
			 Our Lady of Sion School IND 58 86.2 
			 Philpots Manor School INDSS 5 0.0 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee School, Horsham CYS 6 0.0 
			 Rikkyo School-in-England IND 21 0.0 
			 Sackville School CY 260 33.8 
			 Seaford College IND 74 43.2 
			 Shoreham College IND 48 50.0 
			 Slindon College IND 22 0.0 
			 Springboard Education IND (3)— (3)— 
			 St. Andrew's CofE High School for Boys VA 174 14.9 
			 St. Anthony's School CYS 27 0.0 
			 St. Paul's Catholic College VA 127 66.9 
			 St. Philip Howard Catholic High School, The VA 147 47.6 
			 St. Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School, Crawley VA 159 22.0 
			 Steyning Grammar School VC 385 28.6 
			 Strides Learning Support Centre IND (3)— (3)— 
			 Tanbridge House School CY 288 37.5 
			 Thomas Bennett Community College CY 258 10.1 
			 Towers Convent School, The IND 26 100.0 
			 Warden Park School CY 291 52.9 
			 Weald School, The CY 220 42.7 
			 Westergate Community School CY 141 12.1 
			 Worth School IND 69 68.1 
			 Worthing High School CY 269 21.6 
			 (1) CY = Community School, CYS = Community Special School, IND = Independent School, INDSS = Independent Special School, NMSS = Non-maintained Special School, VA = Voluntary Aided Schools, VC = Voluntary Controlled School. (2) School located within Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency. (3) Figures are suppressed due to small numbers. 
		
	
	The top 200 maintained schools expressed as a percentage of pupils achieving the above threshold is placed in the House of Commons Library.

Higher Education: Social Class

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of individuals who entered higher education came from each social class in each year since 2002.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information for full-time students is given in the following table. The figures are taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which are limited to students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via the UCAS application system. The figures do not therefore cover part-time students or those full-time students who apply directly to higher education institutions.
	The latest figures for acceptances to full-time undergraduate courses from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that the percentage of acceptances from lower socio-economic groups has not fallen between 2004/05 and 2006/07.
	
		
			  UK domiciled accepted applicants to full-time undergraduate courses by the National Statistics: Socio-Economic Classification for years of entry 2002-05, UK higher education institutions 
			   Year of entry 
			  Socio-Economic Classification  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Number:  
			 1. Higher Managerial and Professional Occupations 61,419 59,472 59,679 59,670 57,010 
			 2. Lower Managerial and Professional Occupations 83,476 83,113 84,628 87,107 79,777 
			 3. Intermediate Occupations 42,112 40,576 40,790 42,222 37,190 
			 4. Small Employers and Own Account Workers 20,056 19,992 19,881 20,668 19,771 
			 5. Lower Supervisory and Technical Occupations 12,830 13,457 13,114 13,454 12,258 
			 6. Semi-routine Occupations 34,647 35,254 35,516 38,866 34,949 
			 7. Routine Occupations 15,855 15,183 15,199 16,062 15,267 
			 Total Known 270,395 267,047 268,807 278,049 256,222 
			 8. Unknown 61,330 66,895 65,488 82,195 89,342 
			 Total 331,725 333,942 334,295 360,244 345,564 
			  Proportion( 1)  from (percentage):  
			 1. Higher Managerial and Professional Occupations 22.7 22.3 22.2 21.5 22.3 
			 2. Lower Managerial and Professional Occupations 30.9 31.1 31.5 31.3 31.1 
			 3. Intermediate Occupations 15.6 15.2 15.2 15.2 14.5 
			 4. Small Employers and Own Account Workers 7.4 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.7 
			 5. Lower Supervisory and Technical Occupations 4.7 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.8 
			 6. Semi-routine Occupations 12.8 13.2 13.2 14.0 13.6 
			 7. Routine Occupations 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.8 6.0 
			 (1 )Based on those students with a known socio-economic classification.   Source:  Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). 
		
	
	The only available information on the social background of part-time students shows the percentage of young and mature entrants who come from low participation neighbourhoods, and the latest figures (plus the comparable figures for full-time students) are shown in the following tables. Low participation neighbourhoods are those areas for which the participation rate is less than two-thirds of the UK average rate. Information for 2005/06 will be available in July 2007.
	
		
			  Percentage of young entrants to undergraduate courses in HEIs in the UK from low participation neighbourhoods 
			  Academic year 
			  Mode of Study  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05 
			 Full-time 13.9 14.6 14.4 
			 Part-time(1) 20.5 18.5 19.2 
			 (1) Who also had no previous higher education qualification. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of mature entrants to full-time undergraduate courses in HEIs in the UK (who also had no previous higher education qualification) from low participation neighbourhoods 
			  Academic year 
			  Mode of Study  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05 
			 Full-time 15.4 16.0 16.2 
			 Part-time 7.6 8.0 8.3 
			  Source:  "Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by HESA. 
		
	
	From 2007/08, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) will collect data on the parental education of both full-time and part-time entrants to undergraduate courses. These data should provide useful information on the social background of these students.

Language Training

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent by each local learning and skills council on English for Speakers of Other Languages courses in 2005-06.

Bill Rammell: Since 2001 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses for adults have been delivered through the Skills for Life Strategy. Provisional figures show that FE funding for Skills for Life for adults in 2005/06 was almost 511 million. Between 2001 and 2006, around 1.9 million learners benefited from the opportunity to improve their English skills through Skills for Life.
	The amount spent by each local Learning and Skills Council on ESOL is an operational matter and I have asked Mark Haysom, the LSC's Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 29 January 2007:
	I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question regarding how much was spent by each local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses in 2005/06.
	Please find the information attached in Table A. This sets out the amount spent by each local LSC for all ESOL provision delivered through Further Education colleges for the academic year 2005/06.
	
		
			  Table A: ESOL funding for 2005/06 by local Learning and Skills Council 
			  Region  LLSC  Funding total 2005/06 (£) 
			 EE Bedfordshire and Luton 3,791,690 
			  Cambridgeshire 3,492,877 
			  Essex 2,111,704 
			  Hertfordshire 2,613,822 
			  Norfolk 1,450.582 
			  Suffolk 604,614 
			 EE Total  14,065,288 
			
			 EM Derbyshire 1,547,683 
			  Leicestershire 7,807,825 
			  Lincolnshire and Rutland 782,736 
			  Northamptonshire 1,640,823 
			  Nottinghamshire 3,598,129 
			 EM Total  15,377,197 
			
			 GL London—Central 38,184,416 
			  London—East 37,002,364 
			  London—North 16,367,376 
			  London—South 14,838,901 
			  London—West 33,100,693 
			 GL Total  139,493,751 
			
			 NE County Durham 343,638 
			  Northumberland 144,826 
			  Tees Valley 1,679,997 
			  Tyne and Wear 6,107,880 
			 NE Total  8,276,341 
			
			 NW Cheshire and Warrington 2,099,248 
			  Cumbria 462,543 
			  Greater Manchester 18,862,640 
			  Greater Merseyside 4,110,488 
			  Lancashire 3,660,339 
			 NW Total  29,195,259 
			
			 SE Berkshire 5,855,726 
			  Hampshire and Isle of Wight 4,885,756 
			  Kent and Medway 3,290,490 
			  Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 5,985,950 
			  Surrey 3,647,247 
			  Sussex 7,041,012 
			 SE Total  30,706,182 
			
			 SW Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole 1,688,032 
			  Devon and Cornwall 2,677,081 
			  Gloucestershire 1,009,998 
			  Somerset 708,436 
			  West of England 5,201,213 
			  Wiltshire and Swindon 1,410,714 
			 SW Total  12,695,474 
			
			 WM Birmingham and Solihull 14,494,734 
			  Coventry and Warwickshire 5,455,717 
			  Herefordshire and Worcestershire 1,175,318 
			  Shropshire 542,596 
			  Staffordshire 3,898,288 
			  The Black Country 6,076,449 
			 WM Total  31,643,102 
			
			 YH Humberside 2,721,281 
			  North Yorkshire 860,747 
			  South Yorkshire 5,803,549 
			  West Yorkshire 10,925,633 
			 YH Total  20,311,210 
			 Grand total  301,763,804 
			  Note: SFL ESOL within and outside section 1996/97.

Primary Education: Standards

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in how many primary schools less than 65 per cent. of pupils achieved level four in  (a) English and  (b) mathematics in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998 and (iii) 2006 in each local education authority.

Jim Knight: The requested information is shown in the following table.
	In 1997 nearly half of primary schools were achieving below this level in mathematics, now fewer than one in five schools are doing so. In English one in eight schools are achieving below 65 per cent. compared with just under half in 1997. Impressive gains have been made towards meeting the KS2 PSA school-level floor target (reduce by 40 per cent. by 2008 the number of schools where less than 65 per cent. of pupils achieve level 4 in English and in maths). There are now 1,785 schools below the target in English and 2,555 schools below in mathematics down from 2,849 in English and 3,570 in maths in 2003 (baseline year).
	
		
			  Number of primary schools with less than 65 per cent. of pupils achieving level 4 or above by local authorities 
			1997( 1)  1998( 1)  2006 
			  LA  LA name  English  Mathematics  English  Mathematics  English  Mathematics 
			 201 City of London — — — — 1 — 
			 202 Camden 23 15 17 20 4 9 
			 203 Greenwich 50 46 46 51 14 18 
			 204 Hackney 45 42 40 40 16 23 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 22 18 19 25 5 9 
			 206 Islington 30 31 31 36 9 19 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 12 11 13 17 — 6 
			 208 Lambeth 41 41 36 49 10 22 
			 209 Lewisham 42 42 37 48 10 16 
			 210 Southwark 54 55 49 55 15 24 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 54 50 49 52 9 9 
			 212 Wandsworth 32 35 28 38 7 14 
			 213 Westminster 16 19 14 20 2 7 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 25 25 20 26 7 7 
			 302 Barnet 24 28 20 30 6 5 
			 303 Bexley 24 26 25 35 7 9 
			 304 Brent 31 28 29 26 9 15 
			 305 Bromley 17 20 17 23 9 11 
			 306 Croydon 30 35 29 43 5 12 
			 307 Ealing 36 36 28 44 6 17 
			 308 Enfield 29 31 25 34 7 18 
			 309 Haringey 34 33 33 35 10 20 
			 310 Harrow 14 13 8 15 1 2 
			 311 Havering 23 29 16 21 3 4 
			 312 Hillingdon 17 21 18 27 3 8 
			 313 Hounslow 25 26 25 30 5 7 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 9 11 7 10 3 3 
			 315 Merton 10 10 6 12 4 8 
			 316 Newham 47 46 43 46 11 13 
			 317 Redbridge 18 24 9 19 2 4 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 6 5 3 7 1 2 
			 319 Sutton 9 12 8 16 4 4 
			 320 Waltham Forest 27 28 22 35 8 13 
			 330 Birmingham 174 181 158 197 54 85 
			 331 Coventry 46 52 48 61 15 22 
			 332 Dudley 44 50 39 49 11 15 
			 333 Sandwell 65 71 61 70 15 32 
			 334 Solihull 17 21 12 17 2 7 
			 335 Walsall 55 63 51 65 13 20 
			 336 Wolverhampton 44 53 47 62 16 21 
			 340 Knowsley 40 35 32 38 13 12 
			 341 Liverpool 84 87 72 97 26 31 
			 342 St. Helens 28 29 21 27 6 5 
			 343 Sefton 30 29 19 35 8 10 
			 344 Wirral 41 46 41 56 15 17 
			 350 Bolton 48 48 50 58 10 15 
			 351 Bury 14 16 15 30 7 7 
			 352 Manchester 97 89 87 108 37 32 
			 353 Oldham 47 47 46 52 14 18 
			 354 Rochdale 45 41 36 49 5 15 
			 355 Salford 47 42 44 55 20 17 
			 356 Stockport 31 33 31 43 6 17 
			 357 Tameside 48 55 44 60 4 10 
			 358 Trafford 28 31 23 30 8 9 
			 359 Wigan 54 53 40 57 13 8 
			 370 Barnsley 48 46 49 51 23 27 
			 371 Doncaster 47 50 54 60 14 18 
			 372 Rotherham 46 44 51 62 18 25 
			 373 Sheffield 76 71 68 82 29 35 
			 380 Bradford 48 56 49 58 41 56 
			 381 Calderdale 38 36 36 43 12 7 
			 382 Kirklees 63 60 57 64 18 22 
			 383 Leeds 99 100 93 109 31 48 
			 384 Wakefield 52 53 49 58 19 14 
			 390 Gateshead 36 33 35 37 6 9 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 44 47 46 50 17 20 
			 392 North Tyneside 22 20 18 24 3 5 
			 393 South Tyneside 26 18 24 28 10 10 
			 394 Sunderland 49 43 41 51 14 14 
			 420 Isles of Scilly — 1 — — — — 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 14 16 16 23 5 7 
			 801 Bristol, City of 69 68 60 67 24 26 
			 802 North Somerset 14 19 12 19 3 5 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 28 32 27 40 3 10 
			 805 Hartlepool 15 13 13 19 3 4 
			 806 Middlesbrough 26 25 22 28 11 10 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 27 20 21 30 6 7 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 28 27 28 32 5 9 
			 810 Kingston upon Hull, City of 64 57 58 60 20 8 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 30 38 34 44 4 11 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 21 24 26 29 7 9 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 19 20 16 23 4 8 
			 815 North Yorkshire 38 35 52 74 16 14 
			 816 York 15 15 13 20 5 7 
			 820 Bedfordshire 16 22 16 34 3 6 
			 821 Luton 22 26 19 29 4 12 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 32 40 28 43 11 18 
			 826 Milton Keynes 25 31 28 32 13 14 
			 830 Derbyshire 94 102 106 131 25 34 
			 831 Derby 30 26 31 34 16 18 
			 835 Dorset 20 28 21 44 3 9 
			 836 Poole 7 11 6 11 2 3 
			 837 Bournemouth 8 13 9 12 4 5 
			 840 Durham 98 86 88 88 25 25 
			 841 Darlington 8 7 12 14 3 2 
			 845 East Sussex 46 59 42 65 17 22 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 28 29 28 33 5 7 
			 850 Hampshire 91 105 82 135 25 47 
			 851 Portsmouth 20 22 19 22 8 13 
			 852 Southampton 31 32 26 29 9 13 
			 855 Leicestershire 63 63 55 71 13 19 
			 856 Leicester 48 41 50 56 23 27 
			 857 Rutland — 1 4 6 — 2 
			 860 Staffordshire 83 92 81 123 21 40 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 52 57 47 57 19 21 
			 865 Wiltshire 43 50 51 62 13 25 
			 866 Swindon 23 25 18 24 7 4 
			 867 Bracknell Forest — — 7 15 — 4 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead — — 5 9 3 6 
			 869 West Berkshire 65 90 11 23 3 8 
			 870 Reading — — 20 24 5 10 
			 871 Slough — — 9 16 4 4 
			 872 Wokingham — — 9 13 1 2 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 90 82 53 80 12 16 
			 874 Peterborough — — 29 38 10 11 
			 875 Cheshire — — 70 86 20 36 
			 876 Halton 121 131 27 31 10 10 
			 877 Warrington — — 20 32 6 10 
			 878 Devon — — 80 115 22 30 
			 879 Plymouth 140 146 35 43 15 13 
			 880 Torbay — — 14 20 5 6 
			 881 Essex — — 152 203 36 60 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 200 195 17 20 3 3 
			 883 Thurrock — — 23 30 8 13 
			 884 Herefordshire 51 67 16 28 4 9 
			 885 Worcestershire — — 32 59 6 7 
			 886 Kent 198 213 159 205 69 109 
			 887 Medway — — 34 46 13 22 
			 888 Lancashire — — 151 186 48 58 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 210 189 31 34 8 12 
			 890 Blackpool — — 13 20 3 4 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 173 166 111 124 26 37 
			 892 Nottingham — — 65 72 24 25 
			 893 Shropshire 66 70 29 39 3 12 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin — — 28 29 5 10 
			 908 Cornwall 60 71 72 89 19 33 
			 909 Cumbria 71 75 70 82 17 27 
			 916 Gloucestershire 49 70 52 90 14 23 
			 919 Hertfordshire 88 119 84 149 21 30 
			 921 Isle of Wight 11 10 11 15 1 3 
			 925 Lincolnshire 73 81 88 117 29 45 
			 926 Norfolk 90 105 96 123 36 45 
			 928 Northamptonshire 45 54 44 65 19 37 
			 929 Northumberland 26 30 22 33 4 5 
			 931 Oxfordshire 59 71 48 75 20 33 
			 933 Somerset 41 55 48 73 15 15 
			 935 Suffolk 52 66 52 73 12 24 
			 936 Surrey 48 63 41 79 13 29 
			 937 Warwickshire 56 64 52 73 13 17 
			 938 West Sussex 53 69 58 79 9 28 
			  Total 6,129 6,471 5,810 7,596 1,785 2,555 
			 (1) Following local government re-organisation in 1997 and 1998, the results for some local authorities (LAs) are not directly comparable with 2006.

Pupil Exclusions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many permanent and fixed period exclusions took place in schools  (a) with less than 1,000 pupils,  (b) with more than 1,000 pupils and  (c) with more than 1,500 pupils in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The available information is given in the tables.
	The first year for which information on fixed period exclusions is available relates to the 2003-04 academic year. Data on exclusions are collected retrospectively. Exclusions data for 2004-05 academic year were published in June 2006. The available information relating to fixed period exclusions has been provided.
	There are quality issues with data on permanent exclusions. The Department has carried out checking exercises in each year to confirm the overall number of permanent exclusions. However, this only confirmed the number of exclusions in each local authority area and did not include information on the actual school (and size of that school) from which the child was excluded. Figures provided in this response relating to permanent exclusions are as reported by schools and are known to be incomplete.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools( 1) : number of fixed period exclusions by size of schools( 2)  1997-98 to 2004-05, England 
			   Schools with fewer than 1,000 pupils  Schools with 1,000 to 1,500 pupils 
			   Total number of schools  Number of schools with one or more fixed period exclusion( 3)  Total number of fixed period exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 4)  Total number of schools  Number of schools with one or more fixed period exclusion( 3)  Total number of fixed period exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 4) 
			 2003-04 20,703 9,231 188,200 3.33 1,278 1,247 123,890 7.97 
			 2004-05 20,516 9,495 208,660 3.74 1,280 1,240 141,640 9.12 
		
	
	
		
			   Schools with more than 1,500 pupils  All schools 
			   Total number of schools  Number of schools with one or more fixed period exclusion( 3)  Total number of fixed period exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 4)  Total number of schools  Number of schools with one or more fixed period exclusion( 3)  Total number of fixed period exclusions( 3)  Percentage of the school population( 4) 
			 2003-04 268 262 31,320 6.85 22,249 10,891 344,510 4.49 
			 2004-05 280 275 38,250 8.02 22,076 11,139 389,560 5.12 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. Excludes non-maintained special schools. (2) Figures refer to the cases of exclusion rather than the number of pupils excluded, as some pupils were excluded more than once during the year. (3) Exclusions data are collected retrospectively. The 2006 Schools' Census collected information about pupils on roll in January 2006 together with permanent exclusions during the 2004-05 school year. This analysis requires exclusions data to be linked to school population data collected a year earlier. A link could not be established for all schools. There may be discrepancies between the total across all schools and the sum of constituent items broken down by size of school. 4 The number of permanent exclusions by school population band expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils in schools within the same size band.  Note: Exclusion numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Source: Schools' Census and the Termly Exclusions Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and all specials schools( 1) : number of permanent exclusions by size of schools( 2,3)  1997-98 to 2004-05, England 
			   Based on exclusions data as reported by schools—known under-reporting( 2) 
			   Schools with fewer than 1,000 pupils  Schools with 1,000 to 1,500 pupils 
			   Total number of schools  Number of schools with one or more permanent exclusions( 5)  Total number of permanent exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 6)  Total number of schools  Number of schools with one or more permanent exclusions( 5)  Total number of permanent exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 6) 
			 1997-98 21,938 3,231 8,490 0.14 1,019 813 3,190 0.26 
			 1998-99 21,755 2,862 7,030 0.12 1,075 798 2,850 0.22 
			 1999-2000 21,572 2,570 5,470 0.09 1,140 773 2,320 0.17 
			 2000-01 21,313 2,454 5,390 0.09 1,190 829 2,600 0.18 
			 2001-02 21,141 2,467 5,120 0.09 1,224 898 2,810 0.19 
			 2002-03 20,942 2,229 4,720 0.08 1,245 883 2,660 0.18 
			 2003-04 20,773 2,241 4,990 0.09 1,278 933 3,310 0.21 
			 2004-05 20,589 2,039 4,570 0.08 1,280 912 3,190 0.21 
		
	
	
		
			   Based on exclusions data as reported by schools—known under-reporting  Based on figures as confirmed by local authorities in the data checking exercise( 4) 
			   Schools with more than 1,500 pupils  All schools 
			   Total number of schools  Number of schools with one or more permanent exclusions( 5)  Total number of permanent exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 6)  Total number of schools  Number of schools with one or more permanent exclusions( 2,5)  Total number of permanent exclusions( 4)  Percentage of the school population( 6) 
			 1997-98 151 131 570 0.23 23,108 4,197 12,300 0.16 
			 1998-99 173 139 530 0.18 23,003 3,815 10,440 0.14 
			 1999-2000 193 143 480 0.15 22,905 3,506 8,320 0.11 
			 2000-01 222 168 620 0.16 22,725 3,471 9,140 0.12 
			 2001-02 238 180 740 0.18 22,603 3,563 9,540 0.12 
			 2002-03 270 203 730 0.16 22,457 3,327 9,290 0.12 
			 2003-04 268 200 760 0.17 22,319 3,385 9,880 0.13 
			 2004-05 280 217 730 0.15 22,149 3,176 9,440 0.12 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. (2) There are known quality issues with permanent exclusions data relating to 2000/01 onwards. Schools are known to have under-reported the situation. Figures (as indicated) are as reported by schools and are unconfirmed. Caution is recommended when interpreting this output. (3) Figures refer to the cases of exclusion rather than the number of pupils excluded, as some pupils were excluded more than once during the year. (4) The numbers of exclusions in this section (as indicated) have been confirmed by local authorities (LAs) in the data checking exercise. In 2000/01 a number of LAs did not confirm the data for their schools. Numbers relating to 2000-01 have been estimated. (5) Exclusions data are collected retrospectively. The 2006 Schools' Census collected information about pupils on roll in January 2006 together with permanent exclusions during the 2004-05 school year. This analysis requires exclusions data to be linked to school population data collected a year earlier. A link could not be established for all schools. There may be discrepancies between the total across all schools and the sum of constituent items broken down by size of school. (6) The number of permanent exclusions by school population size band expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils in schools within the same size band.  Note: Exclusion numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Schools Census

Pupils: Travel

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school pupils lived more than three miles from the school that they attend on the latest date for which data are available.

Jim Knight: The information requested is set out in the following table :
	
		
			   Total number of pupils( 1)  Number of pupils( 1)  living 3+ miles from school  Percentage of pupils( 1)  living 3+ miles from school 
			 Primary 3,350,326 136,653 4.1 
			 Secondary(2) 2,985,694 508,405 17.0 
			 (1) Pupils age 5-15 years attending Local Authority Maintained Schools (2) Secondary includes CTC's and Academies  Source:  Schools Census returns made by schools to the Department in January 2006.

Schools: Closures

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department takes into account the recent academic performance of a school when deciding whether it should be closed; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Proposals to close schools are normally made by a local authority and are decided under local decision making arrangements. Under current provisions, such decisions are taken by the local School Organisation Committee (SOC) or, if the SOC cannot reach a unanimous decision, the schools adjudicator. SOCs and adjudicators must have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State when deciding proposals. The guidance sets out a range of factors that must be considered for the different types of proposals but stresses that all cases must be considered on their individual merits. The factors include: the overall impact on local standards of provision, the demand/supply of school places, the impact on the local community and the views of interested parties. Decision making arrangements will change in May, when we aim to introduce the new provisions of the Education and Inspections Act. These provide for the local authority to decide most proposals for school closures, but with some explicit powers of appeal to the schools adjudicator.
	The Secretary of State has a power to direct a local authority to discontinue a school where that school has been judged by Ofsted to require special measures. We set out in the White Paper, "Higher Standards, Better Schools For All", our expectation that, where a school in special measures is making inadequate progress after 12 months, the local authority will take radical action, with a presumption of closure, if necessary using the Secretary of State's power, with a replacement school or academy normally opened on the same site.

Special Educational Needs

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many applications for statements for special educational needs there were in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many successful applications for statements of special educational needs were made in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: This information is not collected centrally. Information on the number of statutory assessments carried out by local authorities and the number of statements issued following such assessments is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Assessment of children for new statements of SEN, 1997 to 2005, England 
			   Total children assessed for statements of SEN during the calendar year  Total children for whom a statement of SEN was made for the first time in the calendar year  Percentage of children for whom a statement of SEN was made for the first time in the calendar year( 1) 
			 1997(2) 37,340 35,650 95.5 
			 1998 37,830 36,180 95.6 
			 1999 37,070 35,420 95.6 
			 2000 35,330 33,750 95.5 
			 2001 33,980 32,470 95.5 
			 2002 32,110 30,720 95.7 
			 2003 30,370 28,780 94.8 
			 2004 27,290 25,990 95.2 
			 2005 25,190 24,040 95.5 
			 (1) The number of children for whom a statement of SEN was made for the first time expressed as a percentage of all children assessed for statements of SEN. (2) Excludes Staffordshire in 1997. A return was not received from this authority.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: SEN two surveys 1998 and 2006.

Teachers: Discrimination

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to prevent homophobic and transphobic abuse of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teachers.

Jim Knight: The responsibility for ensuring that teachers are not discriminated against at work rests with their employer (the governing body of the school or the local authority). The Department deplores all forms of discrimination and would expect that all schools and local authorities work to ensure that discrimination does not occur. The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 were introduced to outlaw discrimination and harassment in employment and vocational training on the grounds of sexual orientation. The Regulations apply throughout the employment relationship?the recruitment process, in the workplace, on dismissal and, in certain circumstances, after the employment has finished.

Teachers: North East Region

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teachers were employed in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teachers employed in maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside and North East Government office region and England in January 1997 to 2006.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent teachers employed In maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools in Jarrow constituency( 1) , South Tyneside, the North East Government office region and England: January 1997 to 2006 
			   Nursery/primary  Secondary 
			   Jarrow( 1)  South Tyneside  North East  England  Jarrow( 1)  South Tyneside  North East  England 
			 1997 360 700 10,400 191,670 300 590 10,790 189,430 
			 1998 350 690 10,280 190,100 300 580 10,650 189,580 
			 1999 350 690 10,310 191,120 310 610 10,640 191,780 
			 2000 350 640 10.190 193,100 320 590 10,740 193,200 
			 2001 360 680 10,350 194,960 340 650 11,070 196,680 
			 2002 340 660 10,440 197,370 360 700 11,380 203,170 
			 2003 330 630 10,210 197,430 350 690 11,340 206,870 
			 2004 320 630 10,170 196,640 350 680 11,270 211,000 
			 2005 310 610 10,050 196,270 350 670 11,430 215,060 
			 2006 310 590 10,070 198,190 360 720 11,440 216,290 
			 (1) The DfES annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, 618g, is the preferred count of teachers in service but these figures are only available to local authority level. Information for Jarrow constituency is provided by the Annual School Census.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Annual School Census and DfES annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, 618g

Teachers: Qualifications

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers qualified in each region in England in 2004/05; and how many of those who qualified in each region are not working in teaching.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) trainees gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in academic year 2004/05 in each region in England and how many of those who qualified were known not to be in a teaching post six months after gaining QTS.
	
		
			  Number of mainstream ITT trainees gaining QTS in 2004/05 and the number of those gaining QTS in 2004/05 who were known not to be in teaching posts six months after gaining QTS 
			   ITT trainees gaining QTS 2004/05  Number of ITT trainees gaining QTS in 2004/05 known not to be in teaching posts 6 months after 
			 Eastern 2,220 100 
			 East Midlands 1,760 130 
			 London 4,720 350 
			 North East 1,380 140 
			 North West 4,780 440 
			 South East 3,540 270 
			 South West 2,920 280 
			 West Midlands 2,540 120 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 3,040 270 
			 Non-regional providers 250 40 
			 All providers 27,150 2,140 
			  Notes: 1. Include trainees from Universities and other Higher Education (HE) institutions, School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) and Open Universities (OU), but exclude employment based routes. 2. Numbers are individually rounded to the nearest 10 and therefore may not sum. 3. Figures for ITT trainees known not to be employed in teaching posts six months after gaining QTS include newly qualified teachers who are seeking a teaching post and those who are not seeking a teaching post, but do not include those with an unknown destination.  Source:  TDA Performance Profiles

Youth Unemployment

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of  (a) 16 to 18,  (b) 17 and  (c) 18-year-olds were not in education, employment or training in each local education authority area in the North East region in November (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006.

James Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply
	The specific information requested is not available.
	This is because the figures are taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS) but are not available for individual months. The APS is designed to be an annual survey and the sample size is too small to provide monthly estimates.
	Therefore although information could be provided for the North East region it cannot be provided for the specific month of November.
	The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  January-December 2004: NEETs defined by LEA within North East Government office region 
			   Level  Proportion of all (%) 
			   Aged 16  Aged 17  Aged 18  Aged 16-18  Aged 16  Aged 17  Aged 18  Aged 16-18 
			 Darlington (1)— (1)— (1)— 249 (1)— (1)— (1)— 7.1 
			 Durham 1,346 991 651 2,988 23.7 13.7 10.2 15.5 
			 Gateshead 401 (1)— 504 1,052 22.9 (1)— 24.5 18.6 
			 Hartlepool (1)— 246 486 809 (1)— 18.5 38.5 21.4 
			 Middlesbrough (1)— (1)— 724 1,027 (1)— (1)— 28.6 16.6 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 1,032 605 1,005 2,641 26.3 17.4 29 24.3 
			 North Tyneside (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Northumberland 485 498 788 1,771 11.1 12.1 16.1 13.2 
			 Redcar and Cleveland (1)— 437 515 1,112 (1)— 21.9 24.1 18.6 
			 South Tyneside (1)— 321 533 970 (1)— 14.5 21.8 14.5 
			 Stockton-on-Tees (1)— 558 (1)— 899 (1)— 18.4 (1)— 11.4 
			 Sunderland (1)— 817 1,278 2,704 (1)— 18.3 26.9 18.6 
			 All 4,663 4,969 6,760 16,392 13.6 14.5 19.4 15.9 
			  Source:  Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  January-December 2005: NEETs defined by LEA within North East Government office region 
			   Level  Proportion of all (%) 
			   Aged 16  Aged 17  Aged 18  Aged 16-18  Aged 16  Aged 17  Aged 18  Aged 16-18 
			 Darlington (1)— (1)— (1)— 368 (1)— (1)— (1)— 8.5 
			 Durham 786 1,139 1,270 3,195 14.7 19.1 22.2 18.8 
			 Gateshead 475 (1)— (1)— 767 22.7 (1)— (1)— 11.7 
			 Hartlepool 193 341 205 739 18.5 30.2 13.6 20.1 
			 Middlesbrough 377 (1)— (1)— 741 15.8 (1)— (1)— 13.8 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne (1)— 638 (1)— 1,544 (1)— 16 (1)— 15.8 
			 North Tyneside (1)— (1)— (1)— 780 (1)— (1)— (1)— 13.9 
			 Northumberland 390 639 569 1,598 9.3 13.7 11.4 11.6 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 435 425 (1)— 990 16.3 21.8 (1)— 15.3 
			 South Tyneside 653 363 887 1,902 31.9 23.2 38.5 32.1 
			 Stockton-on-Tees (1)— (1)— 489 1,007 (1)— (1)— 17.7 12.8 
			 Sunderland (1)— 781 827 1,922 (1)— 14.8 17.8 13 
			 All 4,582 5,216 5,754 15,553 13.9 15.3 16.8 15.4 
			  Source:  Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  July 2005 to June 2006: NEETs defined by LEA within North East Government office region 
			   Level  Proportion of all (%) 
			   Aged 16  Aged 17  Aged 18  Aged 16-18  Aged 16  Aged 17  Aged 18  Aged 16-18 
			 Darlington (1)— (1)— (1)— 375 (1)— (1)— (1)— 9.3 
			 Durham (1)— 2,172 (1)— 3,957 (1)— 24.6 (1)— 18.3 
			 Gateshead 511 (1)— (1)— 1,102 26.4 (1)— (1)— 17 
			 Hartlepool (1)— 266 354 823 (1)— 29.5 24 21.6 
			 Middlesbrough 324 (1)— (1)— 618 16.2 (1)— (1)— 11.5 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne (1)— (1)— (1)— 757 (1)— (1)— (1)— 9.2 
			 North Tyneside (1)— (1)— (1)— 850 (1)— (1)— (1)— 11.7 
			 Northumberland (1)— (1)— (1)— 1,170 (1)— (1)— (1)— 11.7 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 559 (1)— 444 1,245 22.7 (1)— 23.4 21.2 
			 South Tyneside 401 (1)— 792 1,476 23.3 (1)— 37.9 26.4 
			 Stockton-on-Tees (1)— 482 742 1,559 (1)— 20.4 21.2 18.2 
			 Sunderland (1)— 748 866 1,943 (1)— 13.7 22.5 13.9 
			 All 4,545 5,282 6,048 15,875 13.8 15.7 17.7 15.8 
			 (1) Sample size of 5 or less which has been suppressed to avoid the possibility of identifying individuals.  Notes: 1. Some of the sample sizes are very small due to the narrow age bands and small geographic areas. 2. As with any sample survey, estimates from the Annual Population Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty. As such, care should be taken when interpreting the figures.  Source:  Annual Population Survey

Cervical Cancer

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women have  (a) been diagnosed with cervical cancer and  (b) died from the disease in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19( ) February 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many women have (a) been diagnosed with cervical cancer and (b) died from the disease in each year since 1997.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2004 (England). The numbers of women diagnosed with cervical cancer in each year between 1997 and 2004 in England are given in the table below, and are also published in the Annual Reference Volume, Cancer statistics: Registrations (Series MB1) available on the NS website
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=8843&Pos=1&ColRank=2&Rank=272
	The latest available figures for mortality are for the year 2005 (England and Wales) and are published in the Annual Reference Volume, Mortality Statistics: Cause (Series DH2) available on the NS website.
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=618&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=208
	The numbers of deaths from cervical cancer in each year between 1997 and 2005 in England are given in the table below.
	
		
			  Cervical cancer incidence( 1)  1997-2004, and mortality( 2)  1997-2005, England 
			   Registrations of newly diagnosed cases  Number of deaths 
			 1997 2,607 1,150 
			 1998 2,594 1,078 
			 1999 2,642 1,034 
			 2000 2,424 1,035 
			 2001 2,418 947 
			 2002 2,305 926 
			 2003 2,312 888 
			 2004 2,221 899 
			 2005 — 837 
			 (1) Cervical cancer is defined as code C53 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). (2) Data selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 180 between 1997 and 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C53 from 2001 onwards.  Source:  Office for National Statistics.

Debt

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much debt relief and cancellation in terms of  (a) flow relief and  (b) stock cancellation has been granted by the Government since 2004 on debts of (i) low and (ii) lower middle income countries owed to (A) the Export Credits Guarantee Department, including debts that have been rescheduled after Paris Club agreements, and (B) HM Treasury, broken down by country.

Edward Balls: The following table shows the debt relief, in terms of flow relief and stock cancellation granted by the UK Government since 2004 on debts owed to the UK's Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) by low and lower middle income countries under Paris Club debt rescheduling agreements. ECGD has not written off any debts outside of the Paris Club. There are no debts outstanding specifically to the Treasury.
	
		
			  £ million 
			Flow and/or stock cancellation  
			  Category  Country  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  Total debt relief including flow and stock 
			 Low Income Cote d'Ivoire 0.96 — — 0.96 
			  D R Congo 2.54 0.39 — 2.39 
			  Ethiopia 10.55 — — 10.55 
			  Ghana 66.06 10.71 5.91 82.68 
			  Madagascar 24.06 — — 24.06 
			  Malawi 0.08 0.78 0.23 1.09 
			  Niger 4.97 — — 4.97 
			  Nigeria — 1,142.41 1,657.59 2,800.00 
			  Senegal 0.14 0.88 — 1.02 
			  Sierra Leone 0.11 0.11 2.50 2.72 
			  Zambia 162.39 — 129.49 291.88 
			   
			 Lower Middle Iraq 336 336 — 672 
			  Cameroon 5.78 0.25 52.51 58.54 
			  Serbia and Montenegro — 42.65 26.70 69.35 
			  Republic of Congo 74.00 — — 74.00 
			 Total  687.64 1,534.18 1,874.93 4,096.21 
		
	
	The debt forgiveness figures are as at 31 January 2007. There may be additional debt forgiveness before the end of this financial year.
	In line with our commitments under the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC)
	initiative, the UK has cancelled 100 per cent. of its outstanding sovereign claims on Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Senegal, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Cameroon. The UK is providing 100 per cent. flow relief to the DRC and will also provide 100 per cent. debt stock cancellation to the DRC, Republic of Congo and Cote d'Ivoire once they reach completion point under the HIPC initiative.

Income Tax

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the percentage of income tax payable which was collected in  (a) Scotland and  (b) the UK in 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of Scotland's share of UK income tax liabilities are provided in the following table for 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	
		
			   Amounts of income tax liabilities (£ billion)  
			   Scotland  UK  Scotland's share of UK income tax liabilities (%) 
			 2005-06 9.0 123.6 7.3 
			 2006-07 9.5 130.5 7.3 
		
	
	Estimates have been obtained from the Survey of Personal Incomes 2008-04 and projected forward in line with pre-Budget report 2006 assumptions.

Life Expectancy

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average life expectancy was in  (a) the UK,  (b) the North West and  (c) Chorley constituency in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 February 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the average life expectancy was in (a) the UK, (b) the North West and (c) Chorley constituency in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006. (120878)
	Life expectancy figures are published for local authorities rather than parliamentary constituencies, and are calculated as three year rolling averages. The table below provides the period life expectancy at birth for men and women in (a) the UK, (b) the North West government office region and (c) Chorley local authority district, in (i) 1996-98 and (ii) 2003-05 (the latest period available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Period life expectancy at birth( 1) , UK, North West Government office region, Chorley local authority district, 1996-98 and 2003-05( 2,3) 
			   Male  Female 
			  Year( 3)  Life expectancy  95 per cent. confidence interval( 4)  Life expectancy  95 per cent confidence interval( 4) 
			  UK 
			 1996-98 74.5 (74.5-74.6) 79.6 (79.6-79.6) 
			 2003-05 76.6 (76.6-76.6) 80.9 (80.9-81.0) 
			  
			  North West Government office region 
			 1996-98 73.4 (73.3-73.5) 78.5 (78.4-78.6) 
			 2003-05 75.4 (75.3-75.5) 79.9 (79.8-80.0) 
			  
			  Chorley local authority district 
			 1996-98 74.1 (73.4-74.8) 79.1 (78.4-79.7) 
			 2003-05 76.3 (75.7-77.0) 80.5 (79.9-81.0) 
			 (1) Period life expectancy at birth is an estimate of the average number of years a newborn baby would survive if he or she experienced the area's age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life. The figure reflects mortality among those living in the area in each time period, rather than mortality among those born in each area. It is not therefore the number of years a baby born in the area in each time period could actually expect to live, both because the death rates of the area are likely to change in the future and because many of those born in the area will live elsewhere for at least some part of their lives.  (2) Using Government office region and local authority boundaries as of 2006 for all the years shown.  (3) Three year rolling averages, based on deaths registered in each year and mid-year population estimates.  (4) Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures.

Members: Correspondence

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what correspondence he has had with the hon. Member for Morley and Rothwell (Colin Challen) since 1 October 2006 in relation to that hon. Member's involvement with the work being undertaken by Sir Nicholas Stern for his Department on climate change.

John Healey: The hon. Member for Morley and Rothwell, who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change, wrote to the Chancellor about holding a conference on the work of Sir Nicholas Stern. His proposal was communicated to Sir Nicholas Stern.

Poverty

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many older people in the UK are living below the agreed EU definition of poverty; and what the figures are for other EU member states.

Jim Murphy: I have been asked to reply.
	Specific information regarding relative low income for pensioners is available in the latest publication of the 'Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2004-05'. The threshold of below 60 per cent. of relative or contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income. Latest national figures for pensioners relate to 2004-05 and show the risk of low income for pensioners, after housing costs have been accounted for, of 17 per cent.
	According to the EU definition, 24 per cent. of people aged 65 and over in the UK are at risk of poverty in 2004. This is down from 32 per cent. in 1995. Thus the number of elderly at risk of poverty in the UK, according to the EU definition, has fallen by around 650,000 in less than a decade.
	While the EU25 average stands at 18 per cent., there is a wide variation in the risk of poverty across member states, from 52 per cent. in Cyprus and 40 per cent. in Ireland to 4 per cent. in the Czech Republic and 6 per cent. in Luxembourg. The following table presents the latest available data on the risk of poverty of people aged 65 and over.
	It should be noted that the EU measure of poverty differs from that generally adopted in the UK, mainly on account of it being restricted to persons aged 65 and over (while the national measure takes into account all pensioners—including women aged 60 to 64), and also because it does not take into account housing costs.
	
		
			   Percentage of population 65+ 
			 Austria 17 
			 Belgium 21 
			 Cyprus 52 
			 Czech Republic 4 
			 Denmark 17 
			 Estonia 17 
			 Finland 17 
			 France 16 
			 Germany 16 
			 Greece 28 
			 Hungary 10 
			 Ireland 40 
			 Italy 16 
			 Latvia 14 
			 Lithuania 12.2 
			 Luxembourg 6 
			 Malta 20 
			 Netherlands 7 
			 Poland 6 
			 Portugal 29 
			 Slovak Republic 13 
			 Slovenia 19 
			 Spain 30 
			 Sweden 14 
			 UK 24 
			 EU25 18 
			  Notes: The agreed EU definition of the risk of poverty among the elderly is the proportion of people aged 65 and over with an equivalised income of less than 60 per cent. of the overall median equivalised income.  Source: SILC (2004, income data 2003) for Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Finland and Sweden and for other member states national sources, income data also from 2003 (except Germany, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, 2002 and Malta 2001)

Unemployment: Leeds

George Mudie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of working age people in Leeds East constituency were unemployed on 1 May in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 19 February 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of working age people in Leeds East constituency were unemployed on 1st May in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (120723).
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of unemployed of working age, and as a proportion of the resident population of working age, resident in the Leeds East constituency for the 12 months ending in February from 1997 to 2004 from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March 2005 and 2006 from the APS.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. In this case, the sample sizes are not sufficient to give an accurate estimate of even the direction of the change over the period.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 2, attached, shows the number of people resident in the Leeds East constituency claiming JSA in May from 1997 to 2006. The table also includes these figures expressed as a proportion of the resident working-age population.
	
		
			  Table 1: Working-age( 1)  unemployment in the Leeds East parliamentary constituency 
			  12 months ending  Level (Thousand)  Percentage( 2) 
			 February 1997 3 7.8 
			 February 1998 3 5.8 
			 February 1999 3 7.0 
			 February 2000 3 6.8 
			 February 2001 2 3.5 
			 February 2002 2 5.0 
			 February 2003 3 6.3 
			 February 2004 2 3.7 
			 March 2005 1 2.2 
			 March 2006 5 9.3 
			 (1) Working age is defined as males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59.  (2) The number of unemployed of working age expressed as a percentage of the resident population of working age.   Note:  1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability.  2. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with particular caution.   Source:  Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Claimants of jobseeker's allowance in the Leeds East parliamentary constituency 
			  May  Level  Proportion( 1)  (Percentage) 
			 1997 3,974 8.5 
			 1998 3,381 7.2 
			 1999 3,055 6.5 
			 2000 2,693 5.8 
			 2001 2,396 5.1 
			 2002 2,308 4.9 
			 2003 2,224 4.8 
			 2004 1,956 4.2 
			 2005 2,174 4.7 
			 2006 2,563 5.5 
			 (1) Number of claimants expressed as a percentage of the resident working age population based on 2001 Census data adjusted to be consistent with 2001 mid-year population estimates for local authorities.   Source:  Jobcentre Plus administrative data

Unemployment: Young People

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the unemployment levels of 18 to 24-year-olds not in full-time education were in each quarter since 1979.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 19 February 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the levels of unemployed people aged 18 to 24 who were not in full-time education in each quarter since 1979.1 am replying in her absence. (121456)
	The attached table gives estimates of unemployed people aged 18 to 24 who were not in full-time education in each quarter since the second quarter of 1992. Comparable estimates are not available for earlier periods. These estimates are seasonally adjusted. They are published each month in Table 14 of the Labour Market Statistics First Release available on the ONS website:-
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/LMS_FR_HS/WebTablel4sa.xls
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Unemployed people aged 18 to 24 who are not in full-time education by gender, 1992 to 2006, United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand 
			   All persons  Males  Females 
			 1992
			 Quarter 2 672 444 228 
			 Quarter 3 675 444 231 
			 Quarter 4 716 468 247 
			 
			 1993
			 Quarter 1 741 489 252 
			 Quarter 2 724 468 257 
			 Quarter 3 681 456 226 
			 Quarter 4 682 450 232 
			 
			 1994
			 Quarter 1 637 414 223 
			 Quarter 2 615 405 210 
			 Quarter 3 613 401 212 
			 Quarter 4 576 372 204 
			 
			 1995
			 Quarter 1 556 356 200 
			 Quarter 2 532 346 185 
			 Quarter 3 537 331 205 
			 Quarter 4 506 320 187 
			 
			 1996
			 Quarter 1 510 334 176 
			 Quarter 2 498 324 173 
			 Quarter 3 482 310 172 
			 Quarter 4 470 301 170 
			 
			 1997
			 Quarter 1 439 279 160 
			 Quarter 2 414 259 155 
			 Quarter 3 403 258 145 
			 Quarter 4 377 235 143 
			 
			 1998
			 Quarter 1 373 226 147 
			 Quarter 2 367 224 143 
			 Quarter 3 368 231 137 
			 Quarter 4 377 232 144 
			 
			 1999
			 Quarter 1 350 220 130 
			 Quarter 2 349 218 131 
			 Quarter 3 330 199 131 
			 Quarter 4 327 200 128 
			 
			 2000
			 Quarter 1 332 197 135 
			 Quarter 2 330 205 126 
			 Quarter 3 316 181 135 
			 Quarter 4 318 189 129 
			 
			 2001
			 Quarter 1 317 199 118 
			 Quarter 2 315 188 127 
			 Quarter 3 313 201 112 
			 Quarter 4 351 217 135 
			 
			 2002
			 Quarter 1 344 210 133 
			 Quarter 2 327 210 117 
			 Quarter 3 326 209 117 
			 Quarter 4 316 199 117 
			 
			 2003
			 Quarter 1 347 211 136 
			 Quarter 2 327 203 124 
			 Quarter 3 330 204 126 
			 Quarter 4 314 194 120 
			 2004
			 Quarter 1 317 197 120 
			 Quarter 2 324 193 131 
			 Quarter 3 340 199 141 
			 Quarter 4 349 213 136 
			 
			 2005
			 Quarter 1 339 213 126 
			 Quarter 2 359 218 141 
			 Quarter 3 368 235 133 
			 Quarter 4 393 245 148 
			 
			 2006
			 Quarter 1 384 236 149 
			 Quarter 2 429 263 167 
			 Quarter 3 434 270 164 
			  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Unemployment: Young People

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the economic inactivity levels were for 18 to 24-year-olds who were not in full-time education in each quarter since 1979.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 February 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the levels of economically inactive people aged 18 to 24 who were not in full-time education in each quarter since 1979. (121457)
	The attached table gives estimates of inactive people aged 18 to 24 who were not in full-time education in each quarter since the second quarter of 1992. Comparable estimates are not available for earlier periods. These estimates are seasonally adjusted. They are published each month in Table 14 of the Labour Market Statistics First Release available on the ONS website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/LMS_FR_HS/WebTablel4sa.xls
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Inactive people aged 18 to 24 who were not in full-time education by gender, 1992 to 2006, United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand 
			   All persons  Males  Females 
			 1992
			 Quarter 2 691 143 548 
			 Quarter 3 632 122 511 
			 Quarter 4 648 134 514 
			 
			 1993
			 Quarter 1 636 130 506 
			 Quarter 2 652 140 511 
			 Quarter 3 641 142 499 
			 Quarter 4 631 133 497 
			 1994
			 Quarter 1 626 134 492 
			 Quarter 2 612 127 485 
			 Quarter 3 622 129 493 
			 Quarter 4 613 119 494 
			 
			 1995
			 Quarter 1 608 119 489 
			 Quarter 2 588 114 474 
			 Quarter 3 571 127 444 
			 Quarter 4 586 131 455 
			 
			 1996
			 Quarter 1 567 120 447 
			 Quarter 2 565 130 434 
			 Quarter 3 558 124 434 
			 Quarter 4 557 130 427 
			 
			 1997
			 Quarter 1 543 125 418 
			 Quarter 2 498 101 397 
			 Quarter 3 493 103 390 
			 Quarter 4 482 105 377 
			 
			 1998
			 Quarter 1 488 99 389 
			 Quarter 2 499 105 394 
			 Quarter 3 453 88 365 
			 Quarter 4 472 103 369 
			 
			 1999
			 Quarter 1 462 100 361 
			 Quarter 2 484 102 382 
			 Quarter 3 491 113 378 
			 Quarter 4 506 120 386 
			 
			 2000
			 Quarter 1 507 116 390 
			 Quarter 2 506 123 383 
			 Quarter 3 505 134 370 
			 Quarter 4 519 122 397 
			 
			 2001
			 Quarter 1 518 129 389 
			 Quarter 2 492 114 378 
			 Quarter 3 513 116 397 
			 Quarter 4 495 125 370 
			 
			 2002
			 Quarter 1 509 133 376 
			 Quarter 2 529 143 386 
			 Quarter 3 532 144 388 
			 Quarter 4 536 133 403 
			 
			 2003
			 Quarter 1 547 139 408 
			 Quarter 2 557 138 419 
			 Quarter 3 554 145 409 
			 Quarter 4 569 150 419 
			 
			 2004
			 Quarter 1 540 140 399 
			 Quarter 2 563 143 420 
			 Quarter 3 586 164 422 
			 Quarter 4 584 166 418 
			 
			 2005
			 Quarter 1 582 160 422 
			 Quarter 2 598 173 425 
			 Quarter 3 592 170 421 
			 Quarter 4 610 178 432 
			 
			 2006
			 Quarter 1 617 181 435 
			 Quarter 2 598 184 414 
			 Quarter 3 599 166 433 
			  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

VAT: Housing

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to extending the scope of the 5 per cent. VAT reduction on the installation of energy saving materials in residential accommodation to include A, B and C-rated windows; what discussions he has had with representatives of the glazing industry on this issue; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the effect on  (a) energy use,  (b) carbon emissions and  (c) the size of householders' energy bills of extending the scope of the 5 per cent. VAT reduction on the installation of energy saving materials in residential accommodation to include A, B and C-rated windows;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of the cost of extending the scope of the 5 per cent. VAT reduction on the installation of energy saving materials in residential accommodation to include A, B and C-rated windows.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government carefully consider all representations for changes to the VAT system. All taxes are kept under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.
	To date, VAT reduced rates have been applied only in respect of goods and services where we consider that a reduction in the rate of VAT is consistent with our EU VAT agreements, and provides the best-targeted and most efficient support for our social objectives, when considered against alternative policy instruments.
	At this early stage in the development and use of the British Fenestration Rating Council's (BFRC's) window energy rating system, neither HMRC nor HMT hold detailed estimates of the impact of a VAT reduction for the installation of A, B and C-rated windows. This impact will depend upon a variety of factors, including the number of manufacturers using the BFRC's window energy rating system, the number of A, B and C-rated windows in the market, the design and price of these windows, and the sales that they achieved.
	Ministers and officials meet a wide variety of individuals and organisations in the public and private sector to discuss a variety of issues as part of the normal process of policy analysis and development. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's normal practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Adoption: Religion

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received from  (a) Jewish and  (b) Muslim community representatives on the effect of the implementation of the Equality Act 2006 on Jewish and Muslim adoption agencies; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 5 February 2007
	Representations received by the Secretary of State from Jewish and Muslim community representatives on the effect of commencing the Religion or Belief provisions contained in Part 2 of the Equality Act 2006, and of introducing Sexual Orientation Regulations under Part 3 of the Equality Act 2006, did not refer to the impact of these provisions on faith based adoption agencies.
	On 29 January, the Prime Minister and The Secretary of State for Communities, Ruth Kelly, made statements, setting out the position on adoption agencies and the proposed Sexual Orientation Regulations. Copies of those statements are available in the House Library.

Airfields

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what level of protection is given to airfields in Planning Policy Statement—Housing; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: National planning policy fully protects both existing and potential airfield sites from development, where it is appropriate to do so.
	Policy in relation to the definition of previously developed land, including land that is either an existing or former airfield, is precisely the same in new Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 3 "Housing", as it was under Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) note 3.
	PPS3 asks local planning authorities to give priority to the development of previously-developed land where such land is in a location suitable for housing development. But it states in clear terms that there is no presumption that land is suitable for housing simply because it is previously-developed land.
	In addition, PPG 13 "Transport" makes clear that local planning authorities should consider identifying and, where appropriate, protecting existing and potential airfield sites (including disused sites) for aviation purposes, alongside any other planning considerations, when allocating sites in plans or considering proposals for development.

Antisocial Behaviour: Tenants

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many tenants in England and Wales had possession proceedings issued against them in each of the last three years in efforts to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Yvette Cooper: Communities and Local Government have asked local authority landlords in England to submit data of tenants subject to possession proceedings on antisocial behaviour grounds in England for 2005-06. While data has been returned it is not considered to be of reliable quality in this first year of data collection. We are working to address these issues and will have a clearer view for 2006-07. We do not collect equivalent data for the private rented sector.
	The Housing Corporation have asked registered social landlords in England to submit data on the numbers of evictions carried out because of antisocial behaviour since 2004-05. The following data does not include cases where landlords brought forward possession cases on more than one ground (for example antisocial behaviour and rent arrears) or evictions under a demoted tenancy.
	
		
			   Number of evictions on antisocial behaviour grounds 
			 2004-05 1,516 
			 2005-06 1,656 
			  Source:  Annual Housing Corporation Regulatory Statistical Returns 
		
	
	Information about possession proceedings obtained against tenants of social landlords in Wales is collected on an annual basis on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government by the Local Government Data Unit Wales.

Arms Length Management Organisations: Enfield

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the reason is for the time taken for Enfield Homes to receive the grant to set up the arm's length management organisation in the Borough of Enfield.

Yvette Cooper: We had a large number of bids for Round 6. These have to be considered to ensure value for money and operates within budgets and that work is still in progress.

ATMs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will introduce an exemption for business rates for automatic telling machines in rural areas.

Phil Woolas: We have no such plans. Business rates are within the scope of Sir Michael Lyons independent inquiry into local government funding.

Bus Services: Chorley and Coventry

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what additional grant was given to Chorley borough council to cover the free local bus travel scheme.

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was provided to Coventry city council for the free local bus travel scheme.

Phil Woolas: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 26 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2098W.

Chorley Borough Council

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was awarded to Chorley borough council in Government grants in each of the last three years.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is tabled as follows.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 7.6 
			 2004-05 7.1 
			 2005-06 7.9 
			  Source:  Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn Summary (RS) returns 
		
	
	This information is not adjusted for changes in finance or function and it is not possible to make like for like comparisons between years. For example, from 2004-05 onwards, local authorities were no longer required to make a contribution towards the funding of Rent Allowance Payments, Non-Housing Revenue Account Rent Rebates and Council Tax Benefit. This expenditure was funded wholly by direct subsidy from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The apparent reduction in the revenue grant allocated to Chorley borough council between 2003-04 and 2004-05 simply reflects this change in financing. The council received an increase in formula grant on a like for like basis of 5.0 per cent. in 2004-05 and 5.7 per cent. in 2005-06.
	Revenue funding includes all grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) (i.e. revenue grants for councils' core services), and includes formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed business rates) and all specific grants.
	The figures exclude grants outside AEF (i.e. where funding is not for an authority's core services, but is passed to a third party, for example, as in the case of mandatory student awards), capital grants, funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.

Contracts

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she intends to announce the arrangements for round 6 of arms-length management organisations.

Yvette Cooper: We had a large number of bids for round 6. Consideration of these bids is still in progress.

Council Housing: Property Transfer

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total amount of gap funding for housing transfers was in each of the last six years; and what estimate she has made for 2007-08.

Yvette Cooper: Gap funding payments by the Department to registered social landlords to support large scale voluntary transfers commenced in 2004-05. In that year payments totalled £7.65 million. In 2005-06 grant payments of £3.88 million were made.
	In 2006-07 we expect to make payments of up to £34 million. For 2007-08 our current estimate is £100 million.

Council Tax

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list in descending order the ratio of council tax to budget requirement for each county council and metropolitan borough.

Phil Woolas: The ratio of council tax to budget requirement for each county council and metropolitan borough in 2006-07 is shown in descending order in the table as follows.
	
		
			   Ratio 
			 Dorset 0.84 
			 Surrey 0.82 
			 West Sussex 0.80 
			 Buckinghamshire 0.80 
			 Hampshire 0.78 
			 Cheshire 0.74 
			 Hertfordshire 0.74 
			 Warwickshire 0.72 
			 North Yorkshire 0.72 
			 Wiltshire 0.72 
			 Worcestershire 0.72 
			 East Sussex 0.72 
			 Leicestershire 0.72 
			 Oxfordshire 0.71 
			 Bedfordshire 0.71 
			 Essex 0.71 
			 Devon 0.69 
			 Gloucestershire 0.68 
			 Somerset 0.68 
			 Staffordshire 0.68 
			 Kent 0.68 
			 Nottinghamshire 0.68 
			 Cambridgeshire 0.66 
			 Suffolk 0.65 
			 Derbyshire 0.64 
			 Shropshire 0.64 
			 Norfolk 0.63 
			 Lancashire 0.63 
			 Stockport 0.62 
			 Cumbria 0.62 
			 Solihull 0.62 
			 Northamptonshire 0.61 
			 Lincolnshire 0.60 
			 Northumberland 0.59 
			 Cornwall 0.58 
			 Trafford 0.54 
			 Bury 0.53 
			 Durham 0.51 
			 Calderdale 0.51 
			 Kirklees 0.51 
			 Sefton 0.49 
			 North Tyneside 0.48 
			 Wigan 0.48 
			 Dudley 0.48 
			 Wirral 0.47 
			 Leeds 0.46 
			 Bolton 0.46 
			 Walsall 0.45 
			 Rotherham 0.45 
			 Wakefield 0.45 
			 St. Helens 0.44 
			 Oldham 0.44 
			 Tameside 0.44 
			 Barnsley 0.44 
			 Coventry 0.44 
			 Gateshead 0.43 
			 Rochdale 0.43 
			 Sheffield 0.41 
			 Salford 0.41 
			 Doncaster 0.40 
			 Wolverhampton 0.39 
			 South Tyneside 0.39 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 0.38 
			 Sunderland 0.38 
			 Sandwell 0.38 
			 Bradford 0.38 
			 Birmingham 0.34 
			 Liverpool 0.34 
			 Knowsley 0.30 
			 Manchester 0.29 
			  Source:  Communities and Local Government Budget Requirement (BR) returns 
		
	
	Council tax requirement is the amount calculated by billing and local precepting authorities under section 97(1) of the 1988 Act to be transferred from the collection fund to the General Fund (except where the amount calculated is negative, in which case it is the amount to be transferred from the General Fund to the collection fund).
	Budget requirement is the amount calculated by billing authorities and both major and local precepting authorities, in advance of each year, to be the estimated net revenue expenditure allowing for movement in reserves.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the annual percentage change in average Band D council tax was in England in real terms in each year since its introduction.

Phil Woolas: The real terms average percentage increases in band D, two adult council tax in England in each year since the introduction of council tax are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Percentage real term increase 
			 1994-95 -0.4 
			 1995-96 1.6 
			 1996-97 3.6 
			 1997-98 4.0 
			 1998-99 4.4 
			 1999-2000 5.1 
			 2000-01 3.1 
			 2001-02 4.5 
			 2002-03 6.7 
			 2003-04 9.5 
			 2004-05 3.3 
			 2005-06 0.8 
			 2006-07 1.9 
		
	
	The figures are calculated from data reported by local authorities on BR1, BR2 and BR3 forms and have been adjusted using the all items retail prices index (RPI) as at April each year.

Departmental Expenditure: Pendle

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what expenditure is planned to be carried out in Pendle by her Department in the years up to 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Pendle have been allocated £1,960,942 Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for the financial years of 2006-07 and 2007-08 and £65,360 Community Empowerment Network (CEN) funding this financial year.
	As of 1 April 2007 Pendle will receive £100,000 for the first year of the Preventing Violent Extremism Delivery Fund. The amount of funding that will be received in the second and third years of the programme is subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review.
	Pendle also receives annual capital funding for housing purposes from the Department: in 2006-07, the latest year for which full figures are currently available, funding amounted to £3.5 million. In addition Housing Corporation funding specifically for the provision of affordable housing in Pendle from 2006 to 2008 is £844,800. Pendle also received an allocation of £183,000 for 2007-08 through the Disabled Facilities Grant programme.
	Pendle also benefits from the allocation £94.9 million made available to Elevate East Lancashire Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder through the Housing Market Renewal programme which was launched in February 2003 as part of Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. Funding is allocated every two years and the programme is expected to last for 10 to 15 years. Future funding will be decided in subsequent spending reviews. Pendle will also benefit from being part of the successful Pennine-Lancashire (Pendle, Hyndburn, Burnley and Blackburn with Darwen) Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) Round 2 bid. Total funding for the Pennine-Lancashire Local Enterprise Growth Initiative Round 2 bid is £23,400,000 until 31 March 2010.

Departments: Freedom of Information

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions special advisers have been consulted in replying to Freedom of Information requests to her Department; and what her Department's policy is on the role of special advisers in the answering of Freedom of Information requests.

Angela Smith: Special advisers carry out their duties in accordance with the requirements of the Code of conduct for special advisers. Communities and Local Government does not keep such records relating to special advisers. Regarding the Department's policy on the role of special advisers in the answering of Freedom of Information requests I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman)on 28 November 2006,  Official Report, column 533W.

Departments: Labour Turnover

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department, or its predecessors commissioned  (a) the company Talent Drain and  (b) another company to examine staff turnover in her Department.

Angela Smith: Neither the Department, nor its predecessor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has commissioned any companies to examine turnover of staff.

Energy-saving Design

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will estimate the percentage of planning consents granted for public buildings in the past 12 months which incorporated design measures for energy-saving and energy-producing; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Planning application statistics do not record this information and could not do so at a reasonable cost to central or local government.
	Central Government Departments are covered by targets for the sustainable management of their estate. New targets, launched in June 2006 by the Prime Minister and David Miliband, cover both energy efficiency and carbon emissions(1) and will encourage the adoption of sustainable energy technologies in Departments' buildings. The Government's forthcoming response to the Sustainable Procurement Task Force Action Plan will add further impetus in this area.
	Energy performance certificates for display purposes will be a requirement for all public buildings by January 2009 at the latest. In addition to the display certificates, all buildings will require an energy performance certificate when built, sold or let by January 2009.
	(1) See http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/government/estates/targets.htm for further detail

Engagements

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if the Minister for Local Government and Community Cohesion will list his official engagements from 26 October 2006 to 25 January 2007.

Phil Woolas: The information is as follows.
	
		
			   Date 
			 Visit to Alresford; Southampton; and Winchester 26 October 2006 
			 Meeting with Lambeth council 30 October2006 
			 Meeting with the British Chambers of Commerce 31 October 2006 
			 Meeting with UNISON and the LGA 1 November 2006 
			 Meeting with the Council of Mosques and Imams 6 November 2006 
			 Meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Panel on Neighbourhood Renewal 6 November 2006 
			 Speech at the British Council of Shopping Centres conference 7 November 2006 
			 Meeting with Sheikh Kabbani 8 November 2006 
			 Meeting with Slough council 8 November 2006 
			 Speech to the LGiU Annual Conference 9 November 2006 
			 Commission for Racial Equality Retreat 9 November 2006 
			 Meeting with East Lindsey council 13 November 2006 
			 Speech to the County Council Network Annual Conference 13 November 2006 
			 Meeting with New Zealand's Local Government Minister 14 November 2006 
			 Speech at UK LG Alliance for International Development conference 14 November 2006 
			 Meeting with the British High Commissioner to Pakistan 15 November 2006 
			 Dinner with the Commonwealth Local Government Forum Finance and Membership committee 15 November 2006 
			 Meeting with the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police 23 November 2006 
			 Speech to the LGA National Housing Conference 27 November 2006 
			 Meeting with chair of John Lewis 27 November 2006 
			 Meeting with the Local Government Association 28 November 2006 
			 Speech to the CIPFA Efficiencies in Asset Management Conference 28 November 2006 
			 Speech to the LEED Directing committee 29 November 2006 
			 Speech to the LAPFF conference 30 November 2006 
			 Speech to the LGC Implementing the Local Government White Paper conference 30 November 2006 
			 Meeting with UNISON 30 November 2006 
			 Meeting with the Social Enterprise Coalition 4 December 2006 
			 Faith Communities Consultative Council (Phil Woolas chairs) 6 December 2006 
			 Visit to the North West 7 December 2006 
			 Visit to West Midlands 11 December 2006 
			 Meeting with Skegness council 12 December 2006 
			 Meeting with UNSION and GMB 12 December 2006 
			 Meeting with Lancashire MPs 12 December 2006 
			 APPG on the Community and Voluntary sector 12 December 2006 
			 Visit to High Wycombe 13 December 2006 
			 Speech to the LGA General Assembly 14 December 2006 
			 Speech to the Academy for Sustainable Communities 14 December 2006 
			 Meeting with representatives from the Alliance and Leicester bank 14 December 2006 
			 Meeting with the British Toilet Association 14 December 2006 
			 Meeting with National Association for Community and Voluntary Action 18 December 2006 
			 Regional MP briefing about Fire Control 18 December 2006 
			 Meeting with Daniel Kawczynski MP 18 December 2006 
			 Speech to the Association of North East Councils 19 December 2006 
			 Meeting with SIGOMA 4 January 2007 
			 Meeting with London Councils 4 January 2007 
			 Meeting with UNISIG 4 January 2007 
			 Meeting with the Society of District Council Treasurers 4 January 2007 
			 Meeting with the County Councils Network 4 January 2007 
			 Meeting with CEOs of London Boroughs 4 January 2007 
			 Meeting with the Bishop of Hulme 8 January 2007 
			 Visit to Thetford 9 January2007 
			 Meeting with SIGOMA MPs executive group 9 January 2007 
			 Meeting with Lord Best 9 January 2007 
			 Meeting with Sue Essex 11 January 2007 
			 Meeting with UNISON and GMB 16 January 2007 
			 Meeting with LGA 17 January 2007 
			 Speech to the NLGN Annual Conference 17 January 2007 
			 Meeting with the LGiU 18 January 2007 
			 RDA Chairs meeting 23 January 2007 
			 Speech to the Muslim Safety Forum 24 January 2007 
			 Meeting with representatives from the Manchester Jewish Museum 24 January 2007

Freedom of Information

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs on the application of Freedom of Information regulations to private companies performing public services are subject to.

Angela Smith: In the course of official business my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues.

Gas: Planning

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the  (a) Department for Trade and Industry and  (b) Minister for Energy on ensuring the timely delivery of gas infrastructure projects while maximising community consultation on planning applications.

Yvette Cooper: The Government will set out in a White Paper, in spring 2007, their proposals for taking forward Kate Barker's and Rod Eddington's proposals in December 2006 for reform of major infrastructure planning, including gas infrastructure. The Secretary of State has discussed the development of the White Paper with colleagues across Government

Homelessness

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless households were placed in temporary accommodation in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter. The figures include both those households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty, and those for which enquiries are pending.
	A snapshot of the number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter is published in Table 6 of our quarterly statistical release on Statutory Homelessness. This is published on our website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index. asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID=2309
	and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. The latest release shows data back to 1997.
	Since the third quarter of 2002 local authorities have also reported the number of households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty that were placed in temporary accommodation each quarter. The percentages are published in Table 8 of the statistical release.
	In January 2005 the Government set a target of halving the number of households in all forms of temporary accommodation used by local authorities to discharge their main duty under the homelessness legislation.

Housing

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much housing revenue account subsidy was paid to West Lancashire district council in each year since 1995-96; what amount has been paid in housing benefit to council tenants in each year; and how this has been financed.

Yvette Cooper: West Lancashire's housing revenue account Subsidy entitlement for each year from 1995-96 to 2005-06 is given in the following table. Responsibility for housing benefits payable to council tenants is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Housing benefits are not accounted for in the housing revenue account. Overall the Government contributes around £200 million to the housing revenue account which redistributes resources between areas to take account of historic funding agreements and meet need. Housing benefit is financed completely separately through by the Department for Work and Pensions.
	
		
			  HRA subsidy 1995-96 to 2005-06, West Lancashire district council 
			   £ 
			 1995-96 1,116,691 
			 1996-97 -4,805,199 
			 1997-98 -5,352,290 
			 1998-99 -5,885,974 
			 1999-2000 -6,622,464 
			 2000-01 -7,124,820 
			 2001-02 -3,334,426 
			 2002-03 -4,080,536 
			 2003-04 -5,040,906 
			 2004-05 -3,327,382 
			 2005-06 -3,162,341 
			  Notes:  (a) Prior to 31 March 2004 HRA Subsidy included a rent rebate element. Figures provided are for the housing element only, which equates precisely with HRA Subsidy system since 1 April 2004. (b) The Major Repairs Allowance was introduced in 2001, providing substantial additional funds to counter depreciation of housing stock. (c) 2004-05 saw a 47 per cent. increase in West Lancashire's maintenance allowances as part of the initial effects of rebasing took effect. There was, in the same period, a reduction in assumed rental income following a small reduction in housing stock levels over the previous year. Together these factors reduced the level of negative subsidy generated by the authority substantially.

Housing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the projected number of households is in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas in each year from 2003 to 2026; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Projected households are only available at local authority level therefore it is possible to measure households in local authorities classified as rural or urban by DEFRA's Rural Definition and Local Authority Classification.
	The projected numbers of households in rural and urban areas are tabulated as follows:
	
		
			  2003 Household projections for urban and rural local authorities( 1) 
			   Rural  Urban  Total 
			 2003 7,634 13,271 20,904 
			 2004 7,720 13,375 21,095 
			 2005 7,805 13,483 21,287 
			 2006 7,890 13,595 21,485 
			 2007 7,976 13,709 21,685 
			 2008 8,066 13,830 21,895 
			 2009 8,158 13,954 22,112 
			 2010 8,253 14,084 22,337 
			 2011 8,349 14,216 22,566 
			 2012 8,445 14,347 22,792 
			 2013 8,541 14,478 23,019 
			 2014 8,637 14,609 23,247 
			 2015 8,734 14,742 23,476 
			 2016 8,831 14,873 23,705 
			 2017 8,927 15,003 23,931 
			 2018 9,022 15,130 24,151 
			 2019 9,114 15,253 24,367 
			 2020 9,205 15,372 24,577 
			 2021 9,293 15,488 24,781 
			 2022 9,378 15,600 24,978 
			 2023 9,461 15,710 25,170 
			 2024 9,542 15,817 25,359 
			 2025 9,620 15,919 25,539 
			 2026 9,695 16,017 25,713 
			 (1) Based on the DEFRA Rural Definition (2004)  Source: 2003 Household Projections.

Housing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated value is of affordable housing delivered through planning obligations in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Information on individual section 106 agreements in England is held by local planning authorities and is not collected centrally The study "Valuing Planning Obligations in England" (Department for Communities and Local Government, May 2006) undertaken by the University of Sheffield and the Halcrow Group estimated that the value of affordable housing contributions delivered through planning obligations in England in 2003-04, was £600 million, which included direct payments and in-kind contributions. This study did not distinguish between affordable housing delivered in rural and non-rural areas.

Housing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hectares of land were registered on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1997; how much has been purchased by English Partnerships; how much has been used to provide affordable housing; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The register was established in 2003 and currently consists of 3,893ha covering about 650 sites—this compares with 4,734ha in June 2006 and 3,544ha in June 2005. It does not distinguish between rural and non-rural areas.
	During 2002-03 English Partnerships purchased 2,087 ha of surplus public sector land and it is estimated that this will provide nearly 24,000 new homes, including 11,200 keyworker and affordable homes.
	The register does not provide a complete picture of surplus public sector land availability as only Government bodies and their sponsored bodies are required to take part in the register process with others taking part on a voluntary basis.

Housing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of home ownership was in each year since 1980 in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The most recent information on home ownership by rural and non-rural areas is from the 2001 census. The table shows owner occupiers as a proportion of all households by rural and urban local authorities. The local authorities are classified as rural or urban by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affair's Rural Definition and Local Authority Classification (2004). Information is not readily available for earlier years.
	
		
			  Owner occupation by urban and rural local authorities( 1) 
			   Percentage of households 
			 Urban 65 
			 Rural 75 
			 Total 69 
			 (1) Based on the DEFRA Rural Definition (2004)  Source: 2001 Census

Housing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of increased house prices on first time buyers in Chorley.

Yvette Cooper: The North West Regional Housing Strategy recognised that affordability was a growing problem in many parts of the region. The strategy made tackling affordability its second priority after neighbourhood renewal.
	The Government have recently published PPS3 which requires local authorities to take greater account of affordability and deliver the right mix of affordable and market housing to meet local needs.
	The Barker review has also recognised an under supply of new housing. In response we have announced our intention to increase the rate of new building in England to more than 200,000 dwellings a year over the next decade. The current Lancashire Structure Plan proposes 230 net additions a year between 2006-16. The draft submitted Regional Spatial Strategy proposes increasing the yearly net provision. However it is too early to say precisely what the final figure will be.

Housing: Birmingham

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much housing revenue account subsidy was paid to Birmingham City Council in each year since 1995-96; what amount has been paid in housing benefit to council tenants in each year; and how this has been financed.

Yvette Cooper: Birmingham's Housing Revenue Account subsidy entitlement for each year from 1995-96 to 2005-06 is given in the following table. Responsibility for housing benefits payable to council tenants is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Housing benefits are not accounted for in the Housing Revenue Account.
	
		
			  HRA subsidy 1995-96 to 2005-06, Birmingham city council 
			   £ 
			 1995-96 728,463 
			 1996-97 -3,628,127 
			 1997-98 -5,884,668 
			 1998-99 -9,540,401 
			 1999-2000 -9,402,259 
			 2000-01 -9,023,524 
			 2001-02 30,628,217 
			 2002-03 28,604,097 
			 2003-04 26,884,938 
			 2004-05 14,632,303 
			 2005-06 17,490,078 
			  Notes:  1. Prior to 31 March 2004 HRA subsidy included a rent rebate element. Figures provided are for the housing element only, which equates precisely with HRA subsidy system since 1 April 2004.  2. The Major Repairs Allowance was introduced in 2001, providing substantial additional funds to counter depreciation of housing stock.  3. The reduction in subsidy between 2003-04 and 2004-05 represents a fall in the authority's annual debt charge following the transfer out of Birmingham's HRA of over 4,000 properties.

Housing: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people on average there have been on the council house waiting list in Milton Keynes in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Information in the format requested is not collected centrally. However, the number of households on the waiting list for social housing in Milton Keynes since 1997, as at 1 April each year, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The links for this table is given as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=l163853
	a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Local authorities (LAs) in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns.
	Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

Housing: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what council housing stock level was in Milton Keynes in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The following local authority housing stock was reported by Milton Keynes district council in each year since 1992:
	
		
			  Milton Keynes local authority stock at 1 April 
			   Number 
			 1992 17,718 
			 1993 17,054 
			 1994 16,914 
			 1995 16,652 
			 1996 14,294 
			 1997 14,164 
			 1998 14,050 
			 1999 13,926 
			 2000 13,667 
			 2001 13,405 
			 2002 12,972 
			 2003 12,592 
			 2004 12,135 
			 2005 11,917 
			 2006 11,788 
			  Source:  Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 
		
	
	Council stock as reported by each local authority in England is published on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/22/Tablel16_idl156022.xls

Housing Corporation

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Housing Corporation's budget was for 2006-07; and what its projected outturn is.

Yvette Cooper: The total departmental expenditure limit for the Housing Corporation in 2006-07 is currently £2.009 billion. As at 31 December 2006 the Housing Corporation is forecasting an outturn of £1.945 billion with the remainder carried over for 2007-08. The two year budges and targets for the Housing Corporation remains the same for 2006-08.

Housing: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on social housing in Chorley constituency in each year for the last 20 years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows expenditure on social rented housing through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme in Chorley borough council from 1997-98 to 2005-06 together with planned levels of investment for 2006-08. It does not include any investment through Section 106 agreements.
	
		
			  Chorley borough council 
			  £ million 
			 1997-98 0.6 
			 1998-99 0.6 
			 1999-2000 0.1 
			 2000-01 0.5 
			 2001-02 0.6 
			 2002-03 0.2 
			 2003-04 0.7 
			 2004-05 1.6 
			 2005-06 0.9 
			 2006-08 allocation 1.7 
		
	
	This information is not held on a constituency basis.

Housing: Construction

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 February to question 118737, by how much the contribution per dwelling will have to rise to reach the £311 million that is expected to be raised from developers of the relevant expansion areas.

Yvette Cooper: The Milton Keynes Partnership Business Plan 2006-2010/11 sets out that the expected private sector financial contributions of £311 million is made up from contributions per house of £18,500 index linked per housing unit plus a further £33.46 million from employment land development.

Housing: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision there was of  (a) social housing and  (b) affordable housing in Eastbourne constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the stock of social rent housing by local authority area in each of the last ten years can be found on the Communities and Local Government website:
	 Registered social landlords
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/21/Table115_id1156021.xls
	 Local authorities
	http://vww. communities.gov.uk/pub/22/Table116_id1156022.xls
	Copies of the links have been placed in the Library of the House.
	Housing provided for social rent makes up part of the affordable housing supply with other dwellings being provided through low cost home ownership schemes. In the last 10 years 182 affordable dwellings have been provided in Eastbourne through low cost home ownership schemes.

Housing: North West Region

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in  (a) Warrington and  (b) the North West as a result of section 106 agreements in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 1 February 2007
	Total numbers of affordable dwellings completions as a result of Section 106 agreements in Warrington and the North West are as follows:
	
		
			  Affordable dwellings—Section 106 completions 
			   Warrington  North West 
			 2000-01 0 781 
			 2001-02 69 785 
			 2002-03 14 733 
			 2003-04 155 812 
			 2004-05 43 631 
			 2005-06 139 1,097 
			  Source:  Local authorities (Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix) 
		
	
	These figures include all dwellings funded solely or partly through Section 106 agreements and are as reported by local authorities through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) as at 1 April 2006. Information on Section 106 housing has been collected since 2000-01 and no information for prior years is held centrally.

Housing: North West Region

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much public subsidy was given to the building of affordable housing in  (a) Warrington and  (b) the North West in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 1 February 2007
	The following table shows expenditure and estimated expenditure through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme, Local Authority Social Housing Grant and Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund for Warrington and North West region in each year since 1997-98.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Warrington  North West Region 
			 1997-98 0.8 97.3 
			 1998-99 1.3 90.8 
			 1999-2000 0.7 97.0 
			 2000-01 3.9 94.5 
			 2001-02 0.9 81.5 
			 2002-03 1.7 93.9 
			 2003-04 0.3 113.1 
			 2004-05 0.4 112.2 
			 2005-06 0.2 114.8 
			  Source: Housing Corporation

Housing: Solihull

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the potential loss of greenbelt land in Solihull if the West Midlands Regional Assembly agrees that 570,000 new homes should be built in the region over the next 25 years.

Yvette Cooper: The amount and distribution of new housing to be provided in the West Midlands region over the next 25 years is currently being considered through the revision of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). As part of the revision, the West Midlands Regional Assembly is consulting on options to provide up to 575,000 new homes across the Region. The consultation on the options will inform the Assembly's decision on how much housing should go in different locations in their preferred option. At this stage, options for housing development in Solihull are between 11,000 and 18,000 new homes, however, it is possible that the final figure for Solihull may be different from these figures depending on the outcome of the consultation. The location and level of housing are a matter for the regional and local planning process. Until these decisions are made it is not possible to say whether there will be any loss of Green Belt in any specific areas in the Region., However, the current RSS would expect to see all other possibilities exhausted before consideration of Green Belt.

Housing: Subsidies

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 4W, on social housing, for what reason most rates of grant have declined between the 2004-06 and 2006-08 programmes; and what measures are in place to ensure that future occupants of subsidised homes receive the benefit of the initial subsidy.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation has been engaged in a major programme of work with housing associations to improve value for money and reduce the level of grant required to deliver quality new social housing.
	The main reason why most grant rates per home have declined over the two Housing Corporation Affordable Housing Programme bidding rounds 2004-06 and 2006-08 is that the Housing Corporation conducts a bidding process, in negotiation with registered social landlords (RSLs), in order to achieve better value for money. The Corporation aims to reduce the costs of provision and the amount of grant provided. This grant reduction has enabled the delivery of additional affordable homes.
	Where homes are no longer used for social housing or where a home owner has purchased 100 per cent. of their property initially subsidised by grant the Housing Corporation recovers grants to be used on new schemes. This is achieved by RSLs using Recycled Capital Grants Funds (RCGF) to hold recovered grant plus interest and re-invest within a certain time. For properties acquired by tenants under Right to Acquire and Voluntary Purchase Grants RSLs credit a Disposal Proceeds Funds with the net proceeds of the sale. These funds are then used to provide replacement properties.

Housing: West Midlands

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) households and  (b) children are living in overcrowded housing in (i) Sandwell metropolitan borough council and (ii) the west midlands.

Yvette Cooper: There are two measures of overcrowding—the statutory definition and the bedroom standard.
	Using the bedroom standard and based on the most recent three years of 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06:  (a) the estimated number of households in the west midlands who were living in overcrowded accommodation was 58,000 and  (b) the estimated number of children who were living in overcrowded accommodation was 96,000. These figures were derived from CLG's 'Survey of English Housing'.
	The only recent estimate of the number of overcrowded households in Sandwell metropolitan borough council is 5,000. This is from an ad hoc report based on combined data from both the 'Survey of English Housing' and DWP's ' Family Resources Survey' for the three years 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03. Reliable estimates for the number of children living in overcrowded accommodation in Sandwell were not determined.
	Reliable estimates of overcrowding based on the statutory standard are not available because the underlying data is not collected systematically. A one-off estimate was made in 2003 that there were approximately 20,000 households across the whole of England that were in conditions of overcrowding that breached the statutory standard. This estimate was based on data from the 'Survey of English Housing' for the period 2000-01 to 2002-03 and from the 2001 'English House Condition Survey'. However, no further estimate was made of how many children were living in these 20,000 households.
	Equivalent estimates for the west midlands and for Sandwell are not available.

Housing: West Midlands

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of long-term empty homes in  (a) Sandwell metropolitan borough council and  (b) the West Midlands.

Yvette Cooper: At October 2005 Sandwell district council reported a total of 2,705 long term vacant homes.
	At October 2005 local authorities within the West Midlands reported a total of 35,703 long term vacant dwellings.
	These figures are based on long term vacancies greater than six months.
	 Source:
	Council Tax Base return (CTB1) from local authorities.

Housing: West Midlands

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total number of lettings in Sandwell metropolitan borough council was  (a) in each year between 1997 and the introduction of choice-based letting (CBL) and  (b) in each quarter since the introduction of CBL.

Yvette Cooper: The information is as follows.
	Table 1 records the total number of lettings made in the district of Sandwell metropolitan borough council by the local authority (LA) and registered social landlords (RSLs) in each year for the period 1996-97 to 2005-06. Choice based lettings were introduced in Sandwell MBC during the year 2002-03.
	Table 2 records the total number of lettings made by RSLs in each quarter from 2002-03. We do not hold data centrally on lettings by the local authority on a quarterly basis.
	
		
			  Table 1: Total number of lettings in Sandwell MBC by LA and RSLs, 1996-97 to 2005-06 
			   LA  RSL  Total 
			 1996-97 5,585 1,027 6,612 
			 1997-98 5,502 1,006 6,508 
			 1998-99 4,557 1,142 5,699 
			 1999-2000 4,446 1,040 5,486 
			 2000-01 4,247 1,048 5,295 
			 2001-02 4,380 889 5,269 
			 2002-03 3,809 791 4,600 
			 2003-04 3,834 803 4,637 
			 2004-05 3,584 784 4,368 
			 2005-06 3,317 763 4,080 
			  Source: Local authority data from Communities and Local Governments' annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix; RSL data from the Housing Corporations' CORE return. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Total number of RSL lettings in Sandwell MBC, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   2002-03  20003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 1st quarter 200 177 207 196 172 
			 2nd quarter 195 221 195 196 142 
			 3rd quarter 205 210 225 170 — 
			 4th quarter 191 195 157 201 — 
			 Total 791 803 784 763 — 
			  Source: The Housing Corporations' CORE return.

Land Use: Sport

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department has considered the issue of precedent in the approval of planning applications for the development of open space designated for sport that has been held derelict for the purpose of increasing the value of the land; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Any planning application for land previously used for sport will be considered by a local planning authority by having regard to policies in the development plan for their area, to national planning guidance and to any planning considerations that are material to the individual case. Planning decisions should be taken in line with relevant policies in the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The condition of the land, and the fact that land is no longer used for sporting purposes may be capable of being material considerations in particular planning cases.
	Planning Policy Guidance note 17 on Open Space, Sport and Recreation is clear that open spaces that are needed by local communities should be protected and not developed for other uses. Planning authorities should undertake assessments of their open space and sport and recreational needs of their communities and only consider granting planning permission for development where open spaces are surplus to requirements.

Leasehold: Service Charges

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of  (a) the adequacy of financial support to lease holders of (i) councils and (ii) housing associations and  (b) the case for improvements to the statutory right to a service charge loan; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether  (a) Decent Homes Standard funding and  (b) other Government funding can be used to assist leaseholders of (i) council and (ii) housing association properties in areas where Decent Homes Standard spending programmes are underway.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 5 February 2007
	The Government are reviewing the issues raised by high service charges payable by leaseholders of social landlords. The review covers all the means of assistance currently available, including:
	mandatory capping of service charges where the works are funded from specified central programmes;
	discretionary capping by landlords in cases where specified criteria, including exceptional hardship, are met;
	loan and deferred payment schemes, and
	equity release.
	We expect to be able to publish the results of the review by Easter.

Local Authorities: Disabled

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total amount available from her Department to local authorities in the North West for disabled facilities grants was in 2006-07; how much was bid for by each local authority; how much has been allocated to each local authority; and what use will be made by her Department of any under spend.

Yvette Cooper: The North West region received a total of £20,536,000 in specified capital grant from my Department in 2006-07 in respect of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) Programme.
	The bids from and allocations to individual local authorities in the region were as in the table.
	Provision is made in funding arrangements for DFG specified capital grant so that any local authority which is experiencing programme slippage can carry over the under spend from year to year. In other cases grant under spends are returned to the Department and because the DFG funding is ring fenced these receipts are recycled into future local authority allocations for this programme.
	
		
			  Local authority disabled facilities grant allocations for 2006-07—north west region 
			   2006-07 
			  LA name  LA bid  Allocation 
			 £000 
			 Allerdale 216 183 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 240 183 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 720 687 
			 Blackpool 577 587 
			 Bolton 720 637 
			 Burnley 720 624 
			 Bury 1,140 448 
			 Carlisle 357 280 
			 Chester 234 232 
			 Chorley 180 180 
			 Congleton 120 130 
			 Copeland 300 157 
			 Crewe and Nantwich 150 160 
			 Eden 99 140 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 402 412 
			 Fylde 294 285 
			 Halton 387 383 
			 Hyndburn 270 174 
			 Knowsley 600 607 
			 Lancaster 495 420 
			 Liverpool 1,386 1,396 
			 Macclesfield 125 135 
			 Manchester 2,550 2,552 
			 Oldham 418 428 
			 Pendle 240 224 
			 Preston 360 363 
			 Ribble Valley 72 72 
			 Rochdale 840 597 
			 Rossendale 615 278 
			 Salford 1,080 847 
			 Sefton 1,091 918 
			 South Lakeland 180 112 
			 South Ribble 191 201 
			 St. Helens 774 668 
			 Stockport 660 510 
			 Tameside 763 746 
			 Trafford 960 677 
			 Vale Royal 165 161 
			 Warrington 541 547 
			 West Lancashire 296 306 
			 Wigan 2,477 707 
			 Wirral 750 760 
			 Wyre 420 422 
			 Total 25,174 20,536

Local Government Finance: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much housing revenue account subsidy was paid to Chorley Borough Council in each year since 1995-96.

Yvette Cooper: Chorley's Housing Revenue Account subsidy entitlement for each year from 1995-96 to 2005-06 is given in the following table:
	
		
			  HRA subsidy 1995-96 to 2005-06, Chorley borough council 
			   £ 
			 1995-96 -1,120,099 
			 1996-97 -1,415,677 
			 1997-98 -1,582,282 
			 1998-99 -1,834,781 
			 1999-2000 -2,183,138 
			 2000-01 -2,458,992 
			 2001-02 -1,010,713 
			 2002-03 -1,323,557 
			 2003-04 -1,543,326 
			 2004-05 -1,529,689 
			 2005-06 -1,284,949 
			  Notes:  1. Prior to 31 March 2004 HRA subsidy included a rent rebate element. Figures provided are for the housing element only, which equates precisely with the HRA subsidy system since 1 April 2004.  2. The negative figures show that Chorley generate an assumed surplus, which is captured and recycled within the subsidy system to contribute, along with an Exchequer contribution, towards deficit authorities.  3. The Major Repairs Allowance was introduced in 2001, providing substantial additional funds to counter depreciation of housing stock.

Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007,  Official Report, column 783W, on the Milton Keynes tariff, on what date she expects the Milton Keynes Prospectus agreement to be signed by all concerned parties; and how many dwellings she expects to be built in the expansion area.

Phil Woolas: The Milton Keynes Prospectus, commonly known as the "tariff" is a planning obligation, under the Town and Country Planning Act and covers part of Milton Keynes. Due to ongoing commercial negotiations it would not be appropriate to set a date when the Milton Keynes Prospectus will be signed. However, a site specific planning obligation, which feeds into the Prospectus, has been completed.
	As set out in the Milton Keynes Partnership Business Plan 2006-2010/11 the expansion area subject to the Milton Keynes Urban Development Area (2004) is estimated as accommodating 15,000 new dwellings.

Minorities

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which national minorities within the UK are covered by the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of the 7 February 2007,  Official Report, column 952W.

Parish Councils: Finance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what financial support was provided by her Department to the Leadership Centre for Local Government in each year since 2003; and how much of this was directed towards leadership programmes for parish and town councils.

Phil Woolas: Since its set up in 2004, the Leadership Centre for Local Government has received the following funds:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 2,000,000 
			 2005-06 4,465,000 
			 2006-07 3,267,500 
		
	
	The leadership Centre for Local Government has not directed any of this support directly at leadership programmes for parish and town councils.

Planning: City of Durham

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of planning applications in  (a) the City of Durham and  (b) England are dealt with under delegated powers.

Yvette Cooper: The proportion of planning applications decided by delegation to officers in  (a) the City of Durham and  (b) England are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   City of Durham  England 
			 2005-06 92 89 
			 April-June 2006 94 90 
			 July-September 2006 94 88 
			  Source: CLG Development Control Statistics returns

Public Expenditure: Leeds

George Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by Yorkshire Forward in Leeds East constituency in each of the last six years, broken down by scheme.

Phil Woolas: Between 2001 and 2007 a total of £1,949,880 has been spent by Yorkshire Forward in the Leeds East constituency. The breakdown by scheme is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Year to March:   
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  10 months to January 2007  Total 
			 Burmantofts Community Nursery 3,550 101,551 — — — — — 105,101 
			 Leeds Sites and Premises (Harehills School) — — 150,000 592,000 100,000 — — 842,000 
			 Harehills Land Use Development Framework — — — 48,650 34,011 7,367  90,028 
			 Thorpe Park—Sustainable Office — — — 40,273 12,756 420,584 439,138 912,751 
			 Total 3,550 101,551 150,000 680,923 146,767 427,951 439,138 1,949,880 
		
	
	In addition there are other projects (including five SRB projects) where funding was targeted at areas within East Leeds as well as surrounding areas. However, it has not been possible to allocate the exact amount of funding specifically benefiting East Leeds. The full details of all projects can be found on the following table.
	
		
			  Attachment for PQ 1444 06/07 Mr. George Mudie—Yorkshire forward funding in the East Leeds constituency 
			  £ 
			   Year to March: 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Specific projects  
			 Burmantofts Community Nursery 3,550 101,551 — — — 
			 Leeds Sites and Premises (Harehills School) — — 150,000 592,000 100,000 
			 Harehills Land Use Development Framework — — — 48,650 34,011 
			 Thorpe Park—Sustainable Office — — — 40,273 12,756 
			 Total 3,550 101,551 150,000 680,923 146,767 
			   
			  Other projects  
			 Technorth Learning Centre — — — — — 
			 Leeds Community Foundation — — — — 732,950 
			   
			  SRB programme  
			 Round 1—Removing Barriers—Creating Opportunities 500,000 232,364 — — — 
			 Round 2—Rebuilding our Communities 2,000,000 3,566,469 660,838 483,894 — 
			 Round 3—Leeds Partnership with Young People 4,000,000 4,836,120 4,275,876 2,901,631 — 
			 Round 5—Better Neighbourhoods and Confident Communities 1,500,000 4,779,808 4,875,208 5,257,311 5,600,537 
			 Round 6—Aire Valley Employment Area 146,500 2,261,934 823,734 2,001,460 2,434,786 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   Year to March 2006  10 months to January 2007  Total  Comments 
			  Specific projects 
			 Burmantofts Community Nursery — — 105,101 Funded through L and P Community programme. 
			 Leeds Sites and Premises (Harehills School) — — 842,000 Work carried out on an old school building. Demolition and clearance of temporary outbuildings, security grilles, erection of perimeter boundaries, repairs to roof and external elevations. 
			 Harehills Land Use Development Framework 7,367 — 90,028 Funding to produce a land use framework for the Harehills Neighbourhood Renewal Area. 
			 Thorpe Park—Sustainable Office 420,584 439,138 912,751 Additional funding to create an exemplar environmentally sustainable building that will be used to promote sustainable construction materials and methods across the region. 
			 Total 427,951 439,138 1,949,880  
			  
			  Other projects 
			 Technorth Learning Centre 303,030 711,480 1,014,510 To create a three storey extension to the Technorth Learning Centre to promote additional training and support facilities to the unemployed in the Chapel Allerton, Harehills and Headingley Areas. 
			 Leeds Community Foundation 109,213 30,900 273,063 To facilitate a sustainable privately funded grant making strategy to tackle poverty and exclusion in Burmantofts , City and Holbeck, University, Harehills , Chapel Allerton, Headingley. It is not possible to specify exactly how much was spent in East Leeds. 
			  
			  SRB programme 
			 Round 1—Removing Barriers—Creating Opportunities — — 732,364 Seven year programme which ended in 2002. Consisting of a package of employment and job creation measures which reduced unemployment and crime in inner Leeds. Covered several areas of inner Leeds. It is not possible to specify exactly how much was spent in East Leeds 
			 Round 2—Rebuilding our Communities — — 6,711,201 Seven year programme which ended in 2004. Invested in physical regeneration in the East Bank Area of Richmond Hill and capitalising on training, employment and business growth in East Bank, Chapeltown, Harehills , Hyde Park, Burley and Beeston. It is not possible to specify exactly how much was spent in East Leeds 
			 Round 3—Leeds Partnership with Young People — — 16,013,627 Seven year programme ending in 2004. Tackled deprivation by providing assistance to young people aged nine to 25 living in the four most deprived wards (Burmantofts , Chapel Allerton, Harehills , the University). It is not possible to specify exactly how much was spent in East Leeds 
			 Round 5—Better Neighbourhoods and Confident Communities 2,232,938 — 24,245,796 Seven year programme which ended in 2006. Targeted the most socially excluded neighbourhoods in Leeds. Addressed issues with Community Involvement, Neighbourhood Management, Community Safety, Improving Opportunities. It is not possible to specify exactly how much was spent in East Leeds 
			 Round 6—Aire Valley Employment Area 1,704,092 1,284,184 10,656,690 Seven year scheme ending in 2007 to transform the region's largest industrial site into a high quality, sustainable employment base for the people of Leeds (particularly the deprived communities in the East and South of the city). It is not possible to specify exactly how much was spent in East Leeds.

Remploy: Contracts

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many public contracts have been awarded since January 2006 by councils in England to  (a) Remploy and  (b) other supported employers; and if she will take steps to increase the number of contracts awarded to such employers.

Angela Smith: Information on the award of public contracts to supported employers is not held centrally. The Department for Work and Pensions has obtained information direct from Remploy, which shows that in 2006, 9,066 contracts were awarded by councils in England to them.
	Subject to their legal duties, including the duty of BEST VALUE and public procurement law, local authorities are responsible for taking their own procurement decisions. It is for Remploy to bid for appropriate contractual opportunities that arise within local government.

Rough Sleeping

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect on  (a) rough sleeping and  (b) homelessness of the influx of people from (i) A8 countries and (ii) outside the EU.

Yvette Cooper: The Department publishes the total number of rough sleepers in England in the annual national estimate each September. This does not differentiate between the nationalities of rough sleepers. The Prime Minister's target to reduce rough sleeping by two thirds from 1998 levels was met ahead of time and is now 73 per cent. lower and being sustained.
	Statistics about wider homelessness are collected and published quarterly. Between May 2004 and September 2006, 615 households from the EU accession (A8) states have been accepted as eligible, unintentionally homeless and in priority need. This includes A8 nationals who have been living in the UK since before 2004. This comprises 0.25 per cent. of the total number of households accepted over the 29 month period.
	Between April 2005 (when we started collecting non-EU acceptances data) and September 2006, 3,716 foreign national households from outside the EU have been accepted as eligible, unintentionally homeless and in priority need. This comprises 2.8 per cent. of the total number of households accepted over the 18 month period.

Social Rented Housing: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) one bedroom,  (b) two bedroom,  (c) three bedroom and  (d) four bedroom or more properties for social housing were built in (i) the Eastbourne constituency and (ii) east Sussex in each of the last 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: Regional estimates on the proportion of new dwellings by bedroom and tenure in the south-east are published on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/65/Table252_id1156065.xls
	a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
	It is not possible to produce reliable estimates at 'borough' level from the information held centrally.

Temporary Accommodation: North West Region

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in  (a) Warrington and  (b) the North West are living in temporary accommodation; and what proportion of those households have been in temporary accommodation for more than 12 months.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 1 February 2007
	Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter. The figures include both those households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty, and those for which enquiries are pending.
	Data is published in our quarterly statistical release on Statutory Homelessness, which includes a regional breakdown of the number of households in temporary accommodation. We also publish a Supplementary Table showing the breakdown of key data, including temporary accommodation, by each local authority (including Warrington). Both tables are published and placed in the Library of the House, the details are also available on our website each quarter, and the latest—Quarter 3 2006—can be found at the following address:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID-2309.
	In January 2005 the Government set a target of halving the number of households in all forms of temporary accommodation used by local authorities to discharge their main duty under the homelessness legislation.
	We do not collect data on the length of stay of those households currently in temporary accommodation. However we do collect the length of stay of those households who leave temporary accommodation during each quarter. Of those households who left temporary accommodation in  (a) Warrington during the most recent quarter for which data is available (July to September 2006), 24 per cent. had been there for a year or more. Of those households who left temporary accommodation in  (b) the North West during the quarter, 9 per cent. had been there for a year or more.

Doorstep Selling

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has received representations about doorstep selling by representatives of EEC Ltd.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 2 February 2007
	The Department has not received any recent representations on doorstep selling from European Environmental Controls (EEC) Limited.
	I would like to refer the hon. Member to the measures the Government are taking forward to improve consumer protection in the doorstep selling market. This is further to the announcement I made on 7 September 2006 which stated that in response to the OFT's market study on doorstep selling and cold calling, and the subsequent public consultation, we would:
	(a) extend cancellation rights and a cooling off period to consumers for sales concluded in their home following a solicited visit, similar to those they currently enjoy for unsolicited visits;
	(b) require traders to include cancellation rights within contracts so consumers are more aware of their rights; and
	(c) encourage greater transparency on prices and greater willingness to provide written quotes, through industry self-regulation, with traders operating under Codes of Practices approved by the Office of Fair Trading's Consumer Codes Approval Scheme.
	As the hon. Member will know, the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill is currently going through Parliament and the doorstep selling provisions will enable the Secretary of State to make regulations that provide cancellation rights for solicited sales visits to the consumer's home (and workplace). Later this year we intend to publicly consult on the draft regulations, which will extend cancellation rights to all sales concluded in a consumer's home and require cancellation rights be incorporated within contracts. We expect these measures to come into force in April 2008.
	I would also like to refer the hon. Member to the unfair commercial practices directive. This will be implemented this year. The new provisions will protect consumers against the physical or non-physical use of harassment, coercion or exploiting undue influence. This is also the first directive that recognizes that vulnerable consumers need a greater level of protection. Practices which would not be unfair to the average member of the shopping public can still be unfair if they are likely to adversely affect a group of vulnerable consumers in a way that a trader can reasonably foresee. For example, elderly consumers are much more likely to succumb to intimidating sales tactics than able-bodied consumers.

EC External Trade: ACP Countries

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance his Department has issued on encouraging full participation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries at the EU-ACP negotiations.

Ian McCartney: We have been engaged and continue to engage with ACP countries on the issue of Economic Partnership Agreements being negotiated between them and the European Union.
	We have listened to ACP concerns regarding the negotiations and raise these concerns with the European Commission. Government Ministers and officials take every opportunity to meet with ACP Ministers and country representatives:
	My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and International Development, recently had meetings with ACP Ministers and negotiators; my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Thomas) and I met with UK NGO's in order to listen to the concerns they had with the way in which negotiations were progressing; officials met with the Caribbean Chief Negotiator and in October I attended the Pacific Islands Forum where I met with Ministers from the region. I am due to visit Africa for a number of meetings to discuss, amongst other things, Economic Partnership Agreements. I had further discussion with a number of my European Trade Minister Colleagues and EC Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on 12 February 2007 on finding away forward to concluding agreements within the agreed time scale.
	DFID operate a number of projects aimed at increasing the ACP countries' capacity to engage effectively in the negotiations. DFID is continuing to help fund the Caribbean's negotiators and is providing two technical assistants to ECOWAS (the West African negotiating group), in addition to funding spent on EPAs at a country level and the work that the international trade department commissions.

Electricity: Heating

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it the policy of the Government to promote the long-term low carbon sustainability of electric heating.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have a range of policies to promote the development of low carbon electricity generation. These include the renewables obligation and the EU emissions trading scheme.
	The Government have committed to putting the UK on a path to a 60 per cent. reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Reducing carbon emissions from the use of electricity will make an important contribution to meeting this target.

Energy: Costs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the average change in domestic  (a) gas and  (b) electricity bills in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The average changes in domestic gas and electricity(1) bills are as shown in the following table. The data presented are for standard credit customers in cash terms(2).
	
		
			   Change in GB( 3)  domestic gas bill  Change in UK domestic electricity bill( 1) 
			 1997-98 -4.0 -6.0 
			 1998-99 -3.2 -1.5 
			 1999-2000 -3.3 -2.7 
			 2000-01 -0.7 -2.7 
			 2001-02 5.8 -0.4 
			 2002-03 3.2 0.4 
			 2003-04 4.1 2.4 
			 2004-05 15.9 11.3 
			 2005-06 22.2 18.6 
			 (1) The bills for standard electricity do not include customers that are on economy 7 tariffs. (2) The data have not been adjusted for inflation. (3) Gas is not yet widely available in Northern Ireland and so the region has been excluded from this table. 
		
	
	The average UK domestic electricity and GB gas bills in 2006 were £338 and £473 respectively.

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent by each of his Department's executive agencies in each Government Office region in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: The Department is responsible for the following five Executive Agencies: Small Business Service, Companies House, The Insolvency Service, Patent Office and National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML).
	 The Insolvency Service
	The Insolvency Service does not publish information by region. Total expenditure in 2005-06 was £126,751,000 and included expenditure within the GO regions is in the following table.
	
		
			   £000 
			 East Midlands 3,382 
			 East of England 7,196 
			 London 48,900 
			 North East 2,325 
			 NorthWest 8,614 
			 South East 6,746 
			 SouthWest 6,741 
			 West Midlands 23,986 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4,879 
		
	
	There is an additional £10,684,000 of cost that is attributable across all regions but it would involve disproportionate cost to calculate the distribution to each office.
	Remaining expenditure was in Scotland and Wales.
	 The Patent Office
	The Patent Office has offices in Newport (South Wales) and London. Expenditure in 2005-06 attributable to the London office was £l,071,000
	 Companies House
	The Companies House has offices in Cardiff, Edinburgh and London. Expenditure in 2005-06 attributable to the London office was £423,000.
	Expenditure by each of the remaining two Executive Agencies (i.e. 'Small Business Service and National Weights and Measurement Laboratory') by Government Office regions could only be made available at disproportionate cost.

Manufacturing: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to encourage  (a) manufacturing and  (b) research and development in (i) Coventry, South and (ii) the West Midlands region.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 8 February 2007
	The Government are strongly committed to the development of a high value added modern manufacturing sector which competes effectively in global markets. We have been extremely successful in providing a stable macro economic framework in which business can prosper and grow and are taking action through the manufacturing strategy to enable manufacturers in all regions, including the West Midlands, to move to high value added production through the application of science and innovation and the development of world class skills.
	We have successful manufacturing sectors; in 2006 our automotive sector produced more than 1.4 million vehicles, our aerospace industry had a turnover of over £29 billion and invested £2.7 billion on R and D. New high tech manufacturing markets are emerging—our bioscience industry is the largest industry in Europe and our environmental industries, worth £25 billion, are growing at a rate of 10 per cent. a year.
	We set up the Manufacturing Advisory Service in 2002 which has generated £277 million of added value and have extended the research and development tax credit which has had 22,000 claims and provides £600 million a year in Government support, the majority to manufacturers. We have put £370 million into the Technology Programme which has supported 600 collaborative R and D projects and 19 Knowledge Transfer Networks since its launch in 2003.
	Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE) and its predecessor RSA have provided 7,403 grants worth £2.6 billion creating £21.6 billion investment and creating/safeguarding 437,271 jobs from April 1997 to March 2006—around 80 per cent. in manufacturing.
	In 2004 (the latest year for which data is available), UK attracted more inward investments projects (563) than any other EU country. France secured 490 projects.
	According to a survey of 1,000 multinationals conducted by AT Kearney, UK ranked fourth worldwide as a future location for direct investment (ahead of any other EU country). In comparison Germany was ninth, France was 14th, and Italy was 19th. 75,000 new jobs created by direct inward investment into the UK in 2004-05.
	 Research and development
	Government have taken the lead by encouraging investment in R and D. Creating incentives for companies to invest in their future. We introduced the R and D tax credit to promote investment and stimulate innovation. It has provided £977 million in support for SMEs, the majority to manufacturers.
	We have more than doubled the science budget to almost £3.5 billion a year—and half the DTI's budget—for the last nine years.
	Between April 2004 and January 2007 Advantage West Midlands has provided the following grants:
	 Regional Selective Finance for Investment (for manufacturing and service projects)—West Midlands region
	Number of offers made—234
	Number of jobs created—3,929
	Number of jobs safeguarded—3,888
	Amount of assistance—£42 million
	There are no figures available for Coventry, South, however figures available for Coventry and Warwickshire are:
	Number of offers made—27
	Number of jobs created—676
	Number of jobs safeguarded—435
	Amount of assistance—£8 million
	 Grants for research and development—West Midlands
	Number of offers—64
	Amount of assistance—£4.8 million
	 Grants for research and development—Coventry and Warwickshire
	Number of offers—18
	Amount of assistance—£1,051,000
	 Grants for research and development—Coventry, South (FY 2005-06)
	Number of offers—4
	Amount of assistance—185,056
	Advantage West Midlands has supported the University of Warwick Science Park Concepts Fund, effectively a proof of concept fund with business support activity tacked on to it, and also have supported the Mercia Spinner Fund to encourage university spin outs.
	Manufacturing is, and will continue to be, of huge significance to the West Midlands' economy. By 2015, West Midlands' manufacturing is expected to contribute 20 per cent. of the regions gross value added (GVA)—the highest of any other UK region.

Medical Research Council

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry further to the answer of 17 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1095W, references 93489, 93070 and 93218, on the Medical Research Council, when Professor Blakemore will write to the hon. Member for Hendon.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 19 December 2006
	I understand the Medical Research Council (MRC) has now sent a reply to you.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he was first informed of the most recent forecasts of the commercial revenues of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The NDA provide regular information to the Department about expenditure on their nuclear decommissioning and clean up programmes as well as forecast commercial income. The NDA's Annual Report and Accounts 2005/06 and the draft Annual Plan for 2007/08 (which are available on the NDA website at www.nda.gov.uk) contain information on NDA commercial operations.

Nuclear Power Stations: Climate Change

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what  (a) discussions and  (b) studies his Department has undertaken on the impact of nuclear power stations upon climate change; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has had many discussions on nuclear power, some of which included impacts on climate change.
	In the context of the Energy Review, DTI has considered a range of assessments covering the life cycle carbon emissions of generating electricity from nuclear power plants. Whilst approaches to assessment differ between individual studies, findings consistently demonstrate significant carbon emissions benefits from nuclear in comparison to fossil fuel plant. A useful summary of relevant studies is included at Annex A to the Sustainable Development Commission's Paper 2: "Reducing CO2 emissions - nuclear and the alternatives".

One NorthEast

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much One NorthEast spent in each local authority in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: One NorthEast manage their resources at a sub-regional level, working through sub-regional partnerships in Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Tees Valley. This approach builds on coalitions of local partners, working together to allocate resources to projects across local authority boundaries. The following table sets out those allocations for 2005-06.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Northumberland  Tyne and Wear  Durham  Tees Valley  Total 
			 Sub Regional Partnerships 13,006 36,472 17,590 24,044 91,112 
			 Single Regeneration Budget 4,275 9,729 4,521 3,842 22,367 
			 Physical Regeneration 4,298 19,853 5,691 4,696 34,538 
			 SFI/R and D Grants 1,911 7,813 5,140 4,185 19,049 
			 Total 23,490 73,867 32,941 36,768 167,066

Post Office

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2007,  Official Report, column 734W, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Department has sufficient resources to meet the Government's deadline of responding to the Post Office consultation within three weeks and one day of the end of the consultation period.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department is capturing and considering responses to consultation as they arrive and has sufficient resource to meet the expected timetable of responding to the consultation in March.

Power Stations: Plymouth

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in the construction of an energy park at Langage, Devon, following the issuing of a licence by his Department.

Malcolm Wicks: Commencement of the earthworks began in October 2006 with further advance works to be performed during February to July 2007 and the main civil works commencing thereafter.
	The success of the energy park is recognised as a significant economic asset to the local area and all efforts are being addressed at bringing it on stream as soon as is practicable.

Recycling: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he expects the public inquiry into proposals to build a waste recycling facility under the auspices of Peterborough Renewable Energy Limited at Storey's Bar Road, Peterborough to be held before the end of 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I expect the public inquiry to be held before the end of 2007.

Research: Grants

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value was of grants provided to the  (a) micro projects,  (b) research projects,  (c) development projects and  (d) exceptional development projects categories in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006; and what the total value was of the contributions to project costs made by companies which qualified for grants under each category in each year.

Margaret Hodge: The value of grant for research and development awards in each year from 2004 to 2006 is shown in the following table, together with the minimum level of investment required from recipient businesses:
	
		
			  Grant for research and development 
			  £ 
			   Micro projects  Research projects  Development projects  Exceptional projects 
			   Grant  Minimum private sector contribution  Grant  Minimum private sector contribution  Grant  Minimum private sector contribution  Grant  Minimum private sector contribution 
			 2004 1,899,881 1,899,881 12,609,053 8,406,036 22,626,345 42,020,354 6,664,286 12,376,531 
			 2005 713,669 713,669 5,333,666 3,555,778 9,174,107 17,037,626 1,895,006 3,519,297 
			 2006 1,626,790 1,626,790 8,503,293 5,668,862 17,657,145 32,791,840 718,365 1,334,106

Service Charges

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what legislation regulates service charges added on to a bill at restaurants; when this legislation was last amended; what recent representations he has received about this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Price Marking (Food and Drink) Services Order 2003 requires restaurants, pubs and similar establishments to provide certain information to customers on menus and price lists. This legislation has not been amended since it came into force. Restaurants are also bound by the general rules for traders on misleading price indications contained in the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
	Representations on the issue of tips and the national minimum wage were made in an early day motion on 28 November 2005, and in a Private Members Bill, tabled in 2003, aimed at ensuring all service charges/tips paid by customers should belong to the workers in addition to the minimum wage.

Technology Strategy Board: Grants

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value was of grants provided by the Technology Strategy Board to companies other than small and medium-sized enterprises in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006; and what the total value was of contributions to project costs made by those companies in each year.

Malcolm Wicks: The total value of grants offered by the Technology Programme in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and 2006 to companies other than small and medium sized enterprises was £73.6 million, £114.1 million and £25.0 million respectively towards their overall eligible project costs of £178.5 million, £277.1 million and £53.1 million respectively. These sums included modest contributions from the Research Councils and Defra, but do not include associated allocations from regional development agencies and devolved administrations towards these projects.

Trade Agreements: Developing Countries

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the World Trade Organisation Doha Round talks; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Government remain fully committed to securing an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). In order to achieve this objective, my right hon. the Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and I and other ministerial colleagues have had regular contacts with both the EU Trade Commissioner and our EU counterparts.

Air Pollution: Northern Ireland

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the  (a) total carbon emissions and  (b) total carbon emissions per capita in each district council area in the Province in each of the last three years.

David Cairns: The Defra report on Local and Regional Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Estimates for 2004 in the UK, published on 27 November 2006, provides a regional breakdown of carbon emissions per capita. This report includes a breakdown per district council area for Northern Ireland. The figures contained in this report refer only to 2004, the latest year for which data are available.
	A summary of data contained in the report are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  End User Local and Regional Estimates of Carbon Emissions 2004, CO 2  Emissions (kt CO 2 ) 2004 
			  District council area  Total net emissions  Net emissions per capita 
			 Antrim 583 12.1 
			 Ards 573 7.8 
			 Armagh 594 11.0 
			 Ballymena 626 10.7 
			 Ballymoney 270 10.0 
			 Banbridge 437 10.6 
			 Belfast 1,777 6.4 
			 Carrickfergus 258 6.9 
			 Castlereagh 421 6.3 
			 Coleraine 514 9.1 
			 Cookstown 555 17.0 
			 Craigavon 736 9.1 
			 Derry 786 7.5 
			 Down 547 8.6 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 580 12.1 
			 Fermanagh 790 13.7 
			 Larne 295 9.6 
			 Limavady 296 9.1 
			 Lisburn 920 8.5 
			 Magherafelt 426 10.7 
			 Moyle 173 10.9 
			 Newry and Mourne 830 9.5 
			 Newtownabbey 595 7.4 
			 North Down 527 6.9 
			 Omagh 499 10.4 
			 Strabane 362 9.5 
			 Total for Northern Ireland 14,972 8.9

Ambulance Stations

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1089W, on ambulance stations, what assessment he has made of whether the current coverage at Castlederg Ambulance Station is adequate.

Paul Goggins: The Accident and Emergency ambulance based in Castlederg answers an average of 350 calls per annum. Based on call frequency, current coverage is deemed appropriate, Day to day deployment is managed by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and resources are deployed as appropriate to meet call priority.

Consultants

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2006,  Official Report, column 945W, on consultants, if he will break the figures on spending down by Northern Ireland department; and what the cost of each contract extension was, broken down by Northern Ireland department.

David Hanson: Expenditure on consultants broken down by Northern Ireland department is detailed in the table as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Department  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 ( 1) 2006-07 
			 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development 0.85 1.80 1.82 0.34 0.489 
			 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure 1.16 0.65 0.43 0.32 2.10 
			 Department of Education 0.66 1.04 1.75 0.70 1.296 
			 Department for Employment and Learning 0.41 0.43 0.42 0.62 0.64 
			 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment 1.47 2.11 1.22 1.29 1.14 
			 Department of the Environment 0.40 0.48 0.31 0.45 1.14 
			 Department of Finance and Personnel 1.66 2.53 2.65 2.35 4.50 
			 Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety 0.84 1.50 1.85 2.564 3.10 
			 Department for Regional Development 0.43 1.04 2.18 1.37 4.90 
			 Department for Social Development 1.81 1.59 0.62 0.48 0.82 
			 Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister 0.82 1.28 0.70 0.87 1.403 
			 Northern Ireland Office 2.42 2.17 3.33 5.16 4.937 
			 Total 12.93 16.62 17.28 16.514 26.465 
			 (1) Estimated expenditure  Note: Two Departments have revised their previously reported figures to rectify inconsistent treatment of guidance. 
		
	
	The following table provides the cost of each contract extension broken down by Department. Departments that are unable to provide the required information due to excessive cost are marked as disproportionate cost under the column "Extension Duration".
	
		
			  Department  Extension duration  Extension value (£000) 
			 Department for Social Development Disproportionate cost  
			 Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety Disproportionate cost  
			 Department for Regional Development 4 months 6 
			  2 months 71 
			 Department of Education 3 months 2 
			  10 months 4 
			  4 days 3 
			  35 days 15 
			  7 days 4 
			  159 days 44 
			 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure 5 days 1 
			  3 days 2 
			  16.5 days 12 
			  6 months 8 
			 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development 3 days 3 
			  6 months 3 
			  18 months 5 
			 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment Disproportionate cost  
			 Department of the Environment 8.5 weeks 0 
			  17.5 weeks 0 
			  3 weeks 0 
			  15 weeks 0 
			  12 days 0 
			  8 days 0 
			  1.5 years 531 
			  5 months 3 
			  1 year 36 
			  6 months 12 
			  6 months 5 
			 Department for Employment and Learning 3 months 0 
			  46 day 29 
			  1 month 0 
			  5 days 7 
			  1 day 0 
			 Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister 7 months 44 
			  9 months 0 
			  7 months 0 
			  4 months 0 
			  2 months 0 
			  11 months 0 
			  8.5 days 5 
			 Department of Finance and Personnel 2 months 0 
			  3 months 2 
			  3 months 0 
			  8 months 90 
			  11 months 1,200 
			  11 months 75 
			 Northern Ireland Office 2 months 0 
			  3 months 10 
			  still ongoing 2

Departmental Computers

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many laptops and computers were stolen from each of the Northern Ireland departments in each of the last nine years; and what the total value was of such stolen computers.

David Hanson: A total of 55 laptop/pc computers valued at £61,092 were stolen from Northern Ireland departments during the last nine years. A breakdown by department is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  DARD 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2001 3 laptops 3,600 
			 2002 4 laptops 4,100 
			 2003 3 laptops, 1 Pocket PC 2,000 
			 2004 2 laptops, 1 PC 2,100 
		
	
	
		
			  DCAL 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2002 1 laptop 2,277 
		
	
	
		
			  DEL 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2001 1 laptop 575 
			 2006 1 laptop 575 
		
	
	
		
			  DETI 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2001 2 laptops 2,820 
			 2004 1 laptop 1,020 
			 2005 1 laptop 825 
			 2006 2 laptops 1,500 
		
	
	
		
			  DFP 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2003 2 laptops (1)— 
			 2004 1 laptop 800 
			 2007 1 laptop 800 
			 (1) No loss—items retrieved. 
		
	
	
		
			  DHSSPS 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 1999 1 laptop 1,500 
			 2001 1 laptop 1,000 
			 2004 1 laptop 1,000 
			 2005 3 laptops 2,720 
		
	
	
		
			  OFMDFM 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2002 1 laptop 2,197 
			 2004 1 laptop 1,597 
			 2005 2 laptops 2,647 
		
	
	
		
			  DSD 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2001 2 2,000 
			 2004 1 1,000 
			 2005 1 860 
		
	
	
		
			  NIO 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2006-07 1 1,500 
			 2003-04 1 1,500 
			 2002-03 1 350 
			 2001-02 1 1,500 
			 1999-2000 1 4,500 
			 1998-99 1 3,000 
		
	
	
		
			  DE 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 2002-03 1 735 
			 2001-02 2 2,624 
		
	
	
		
			  DRD 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 1999-2000 1 1,160 
			 2004-05 1 1,160 
			 2005-06 2 2,350 
		
	
	
		
			  DOE 
			   Items  Cost (£) 
			 1998-99 1 1,200

Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the co-efficient values given to the property attributes for conservatories are in the Valuation and Land Agency's calibrated multiple regression formula used in the domestic rates revaluation in Northern Ireland in each of the 25 market areas.

David Hanson: In Northern Ireland conservatories were not considered as a specific modelling factor during Valuation and Lands Agency's multiple regression analysis. No co-efficients were therefore calculated for conservatories.

Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisation will consider appeals against the new domestic capital value ratings; and whether there is a further appeal stage thereafter.

David Hanson: The new capital value rating system in Northern Ireland will have a three stage appeal process. The first stage will involve a review by a District Valuer from the Valuation and Lands Agency (VLA) followed by an appeal to the Commissioner of Valuation. The final stage is an appeal to an independent Valuation Tribunal which will be under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Court Service.

Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether an additional  (a) bedroom,  (b) bathroom and  (c) outbuilding would (i) constitute a material change in a domestic property under the new discrete capital values system of domestic local taxation and (ii) be considered in any valuation of the property for local taxation purposes.

David Hanson: An additional  (a) bedroom;  (b) bathroom; and  (c) outbuilding could constitute a material change under the new capital value system of domestic local taxation and may therefore be considered in any valuation of the property for local taxation purposes, only if it involves a structural change to the property.

Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total monetary value of the transitional relief for the new discrete capital values system of domestic local taxation is in each year of its operation.

David Hanson: In the first year the monetary value in terms of revenue forgone is estimated to be £17.91 million. In year two this is £12 million and year three, £6 million. For years two and three it will be for the Northern Ireland Assembly to decide if these amounts will remain as revenue forgone or if the liability should be redistributed among other ratepayers.

Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the tax liability is under the new discrete capital values system of domestic local taxation for  (a) households made up solely of full-time students,  (b) households made up solely of working student nurses and  (c) households with some full-time students and some adults not on benefits.

David Hanson: Households made up solely of full time students, including those on a full-time education course for nursing and midwifery, will receive 100 per cent. relief from rate liability. Should a household not be made up of solely full-time students, the education and training relief will not be awarded.

Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effect of  (a) the new discrete capital values system of domestic local taxation,  (b) the change in local taxation on property due to changes in the regional and district rates and  (c) the introduction of a capital-based system of water charging on long-term house prices in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The University of Ulster looked at this issue in 2003 when it carried out its impact assessment of options for reform of the domestic rating system. Its findings were inconclusive. It did note that, as the new rating system is not a new tax but the redistribution of an existing tax, in the unlikely event that any measurable impact should emerge it could affect the market unevenly and in either direction, depending on location and sector. This work did not extend to examining the impact of Water Reform and no specific study has been carried out.
	It should also be noted that recent evidence from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which referred to its European Housing Review 2007, shows that NI experienced the highest increases in Europe in 2006. This exceptional growth continues and it has included the period that the Valuation and Lands Agency were advising individual householders in NI of their new capital values, together with an indication of their new rate liability. This would suggest that rating and water reform have not affected the residential property market in NI.

Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate has been made of the number of appeals against the new domestic capital value ratings  (a) prior to 1 April 2007,  (b) in the 12 months from 1 April 2007 and  (c) in 2008-09.

David Hanson: Valuation and Lands Agency estimate that there will be:
	 (a) 27,000 informal reviews before 1 April 2007;
	 (b) 35,000 applications for review of the new capital values and it is estimated that some 7,000 of these will proceed to the Commissioner of Valuation; and
	 (c) no estimates have been finalised for 2008-09.

Energy: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will  (a) estimate the total cost to the public purse would be of free distribution of three energy efficient light bulbs to every home in Northern Ireland and  (b) assess the environmental impact of such a move.

Maria Eagle: The estimated cost of supplying three energy efficient light bulbs to every home in Northern Ireland is £7.59 million. This could result in electricity savings of 1648 GWh and a saving of 360,294 tonnes of carbon during the lifetime of the bulbs, This equates to a yearly carbon saving of 16,574 tonnes.

Garages and Petrol Stations: Northern Ireland

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many retail petrol stations there were in Northern Ireland in 1997; and how many there are in 2007.

Maria Eagle: Government do not hold this figure centrally. However, figures obtained from the Northern Ireland petrol retailing industry estimate the following figures for licensed premises as approximately 550 for 2007 compared to 1,000 in 1997.

Invest Northern Ireland: Londonderry

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public funding has been spent by Invest Northern Ireland on offering assistance to representatives of companies in East Londonderry constituency in each of the last two years.

Maria Eagle: The following table details the amount of assistance offered by Invest NT within the constituency of East Londonderry in each of the two years from 2004-05 to 2005-06.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  Assistance offered 
			 2004-05 2.13 
			 2005-06 10.65 
			 Total 12.78

Irish Language

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether an economic appraisal has been undertaken to estimate the cost implications across all Northern Ireland Government Departments if the Irish Language Bill, envisaged in the St. Andrews Agreement is enacted.

Maria Eagle: While a formal economic appraisal has not been undertaken a financial impact assessment was carried out. The assessment looked at the cost of implementing similar legislation in Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. This information along with an account of the expenditure incurred by Northern Ireland Departments on the Irish language during the previous financial year was included as chapter 7 of the consultation paper. After the consultation period has ended the costs and benefits analysis will be revisited within the context of assessing the options for the Bill and the preparation of a regulatory impact assessment.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2006,  Official Report, column 836-7W, on local government finance, whether a material change to a domestic property that changed the capital value of the property where the property ownership has not changed would change the domestic rates bill before the time of the next rates revaluation.

David Hanson: Under the existing NAV system and new rates system a material change to a domestic property that changes the rental or capital value of the property, where the property ownership has not changed, will change the domestic rates bill. However, under the new capital value system, these changes will now not have effect until on or after the commencement of the rating year immediately following the year in which the change is made.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2006,  Official Report, column 872W, on local government finance, whether non-structural changes may count as material changes when determining changes in the capital value of the property.

David Hanson: Under current rating legislation some non-structural changes may count as material changes when determining changes in the capital value of a property. A full list of such changes can be found in schedule 6 of the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977.

NHS: Laboratories

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) clinical biochemistry,  (b) haematology,  (c) histopathology,  (d) cytopathology and  (e) microbiology tests and investigations were conducted at each health service laboratory in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of  (a) clinical biochemistry,  (b) haematology,  (c) histopathology,  (d) cytopathology and  (e) microbiology tests or investigations conducted at each health service laboratory in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years is not readily available. However, the number of tests conducted at each trust for the last four years is detailed in the following table. The Department started to collect this information in 2001-02 and so caution should be taken with the first year's data. 2005-06 data is not yet available.
	
		
			  (a) Clinical biochemistry profiles( 1, 2) 
			  Trust  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Altnagelvin Hospitals HSS Trust 373,360 421,968 503,013 564,746 
			 Belfast Link Laboratories(3) 1,514,386 1,520,688 1,778,582 1,859,403 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 149,571 221,535 243,672 288,993 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust/Newry and Mourne HSS Trust(4) 666,287 754,056 841,959 907,915 
			 Green Park HSS Trust 151,975 165,207 175,228 97,279 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 132,016 144,419 155,455 142,572 
			 Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust 208,198 236,161 260,597 330,086 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals HSS Trust 328,682 366,604 444,843 537,614 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 651,069 750,268 790,273 901,056 
			 Total 4,175,544 4,580,906 5,193,622 5,629,664 
			 (1 )Profile = a range of tests performed on an individual sample. (2 )All regional services are excluded from the regional financial benchmarking exercise. (3 )Belfast Link Laboratories is the joint directorate of the three hospitals in central Belfast, namely, Belfast City Hospitals Trust, the Mater Hospital Trust, and the Royal Group of Hospitals Trust. As the Mater was still being amalgamated into BLL during this review, data were recorded separately. All three hospital sites have laboratories. (4) Craigavon Area Hospitals HSS Trust, incorporating service provided from Daisy Hill Hospital Laboratory.  Source:  Regional Financial Benchmarking Exercise 
		
	
	
		
			  (e) Microbiology Requests 
			  Trust  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Altnagelvin Hospitals HSS Trust 109,315 102,724 113,526 116,120 
			 Belfast Link Laboratories(2) 372,446 329,344 348,927 364,924 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 52,728 55,688 53,088 58,293 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust/ Newry and Mourne HSS Trust(3) 157,231 159,168 162,178 168,082 
			 Green Park HSS Trust 40,038 43,821 44,412 43,354 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 27,985 30,437 32,620 31,555 
			 Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust 56,018 57,273 61,182 64,076 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals HSS Trust 112,193 1 14,422 114,581 116,236 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 202,435 206,561 225,511 248,248] 
			 Total 1,130,389 1,099,438 1,156,025 1,210,888 
			 (1)All regional services are excluded from the regional financial benchmarking exercise. (2 )Belfast Link Laboratories is the joint directorate of the three hospitals in central Belfast, namely, Belfast City Hospitals Trust, the Mater Hospital Trust and die Royal Group of Hospitals Trust. As the Mater was still being amalgamated into BLL during this review, data were recorded separately. All three hospital sites have laboratories. (3) Craigavon Area Hospitals HSS Trust, incorporating service provided from Daisy Hill Hospital Laboratory.  Source:  Regional Financial Benchmarking Exercise.

North Down and Ards Institute of Further and Higher Education

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions a Minister from his Department has visited the North Down and Ards Institute in each of the past three years.

Maria Eagle: My right hon. Friend The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland visited the North Down and Ards Institute on one occasion in June 2006.

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a copy of the presentation and handouts produced by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency for the February 2006 Integrating Geographical Information System and Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal Conference in Orlando.

David Hanson: A copy of the presentation will be placed in the Library. No handouts were prepared for the conference.
	The presentation was made by a private sector company working with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) on behalf of Valuation and Lands Agency (VLA). No member of NISRA or VLA was present at the conference.

Photoviewer

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many images are held in the Valuation and Lands Agency's Photoviewer database; in what graphic format they are held; how much was spent on building the database; and what the maximum number is of images that can be stored.

David Hanson: 40,000 images are currently held under the Valuation and Lands Agency's Photoviewer process. The photographs are held in Jpeg format.
	The photographic data has been built up as part of the normal rating operational inspection process; no separate cost is identifiable.
	The maximum number of images that can be stored is 795,000.

Planning Gain Supplement

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Valuation and Land Agency's estimated expenditure is on preparation required to implement the planning gain supplement.

David Hanson: Preparations for the introduction of Planning gain Supplement (PGS) are likely to comprise staff training and the development of an interface between the IT systems of the Valuation and Lands Agency and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
	No estimates of cost have yet been prepared for these as the nature of the interface required is only at the early stages of specification and the volume of cases to be processed will not be determined until after the public consultation period on Valuing Planning Gain and Paying PGS ends on 28 February 2007.

Planning: Northern Ireland

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many landscape architects are employed by the planning service in Northern Ireland; and how many were employed in each of the previous five years.

David Cairns: The Department of the Environment currently employs 10 landscape architects, including one casual member of staff. Until 1 April 2006, landscape architects were employed by the Department of Finance and Personnel and I understand from that Department that the numbers employed in each of the previous five years are as follows:
	
		
			  Landscape architects 
			   Number 
			 2005-06 10 
			 2004-05 10 
			 2003-04 11 
			 2002-03 11 
			 2001-02 11

Railways: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what planned improvement works to enhance public safety are scheduled for 2007 at unmanned railway crossings on the rail networks in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: Capital works projects are scheduled at four unmanned crossings. These are Robinson's (near Moira) and Menary's (Portstewart), both of which will be miniature stop light controlled crossings and where site works are due to begin imminently; Meeting House Lane (Dunmurry) where a gated crossing facility is to be erected; and McConaghie's (Myroe) currently at economic appraisal stage, In addition, a continuous programme of maintenance inspections is undertaken for all such crossings and minor remedial works undertaken as necessary.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2006,  Official Report, column 714W, on the Valuation and Lands Agency, if he will place in the Library a copy of the presentation given by  (a) the Chief Executive of the Agency and  (b) the Director of Domestic Rating and Assessment to the annual conference of the International Association of Assessing Officers in Milwaukee in October 2006.

David Hanson: A copy of the presentation given by the Chief Executive of the Agency will be placed in the Library. The Director of Rating and Assessment was part of an international panel discussion and did not give a formal presentation.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2006,  Official Report, column 714W, on the Valuation and Lands Agency, what the technical definition is of a value neighbourhood.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency technical definition of a value neighbourhood is
	"the largest possible contiguous grouping of properties where significant economic forces on those properties are generally uniform".

Valuation and Lands Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 716-17W, on the Valuation and Lands Agency, what the average numerical value is of the constant ('a' variable) used in the calibrated multiple regression formula in each of the 25 market areas.

David Hanson: A list of average numerical values of the constants used in the Valuation and Lands Agency calibrated multiple regression formula in each of the 25 market areas is as follows:
	
		
			   Constant values in the calibrated multiple regression formula 
			 Antrim 6232.42 
			 Ards Peninsula 7073.81 
			 Armagh 2620.27 
			 Ballymena and Hinterland 3630.21 
			 Ballymoney and Hinterland 3444.36 
			 Banbridge 4070.03 
			 Castlereagh 5544.08 
			 Coleraine and North Coast 3905.04 
			 Craigavon 3980,18 
			 Derry 4444.19 
			 Down 6710.34 
			 Dungannon and Clougher Valley 3745.95 
			 East Antrim 4073.87 
			 Fermanagh 3458.07 
			 Glens and North Antrim Coast 3554.25 
			 Greater Belfast 5453.93 
			 Limavady 3847.28 
			 Lisburn 5025.21 
			 Mid Down and Ards 6815.15 
			 Mid Ulster 2852.50 
			 Newry and Mournes 3729.74 
			 North Down 4670.88 
			 Omagh 2838,68 
			 South Armagh 7294.13 
			 Strabane 3318.04

Valuation and Lands Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 716-17W, on the Valuation and Lands Agency, which property attribute variables had co-efficients of greater than +/- zero in the calibrated multiple regression formulae in  (a) some of and  (b) all the market areas.

David Hanson: A list of property attribute variables which had co-efficients of greater than zero in the calibrated multiple regression formulae in  (a) some; and  (b) all of the market areas is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Property attributes—Variables used throughout the 25 models  
			 Habitable space (m2) All 
			 Ancillary space (m2) All 
			 Outbuildings size (m2) Some 
			 Primary classification (public/private build) Some 
			 Sub-classification (detached, semi-detached, terrace) All 
			 Grade of construction All 
			 Age band All 
			 Number of storeys Some 
			 Heating Some 
			 Sewerage provision Some 
			 Water provision Some 
			 Power provision Some 
			 External repair Some 
			 Garage All 
			 Site positive features Some 
			 Site negative features Some 
			 Neighbourhood All 
			 Location (rural, urban, suburban) All 
			 Access type Some

Valuation and Lands Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 716-17W, on the Valuation and Lands Agency, what the average capital value was of the average domestic property in each of the 25 market areas calculated as part of the rates revaluation.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency calculated the average capital value of all domestic properties in each of the 25 market areas and this information is given in the following table.
	VLA does not hold similar information by "average domestic property".
	
		
			  Market Area  Average capital value (£) 
			 Antrim 114,477 
			 Ards Peninsula 123,133 
			 Armagh 114,848 
			 Ballymena and Hinterland 115,579 
			 Ballymoney and Hinterland 108,544 
			 Banbridge 113,472 
			 Castlereagh 174,626 
			 Coleraine North Coast 129,560 
			 Craigavon 98,372 
			 Derry 102,219 
			 Down 126,299 
			 Dungannon and Clougher Valley 115,290 
			 East Antrim 108,960 
			 Fermanagh 110,910 
			 Glens 120,092 
			 Greater Belfast 186,249 
			 Limavady 103,898 
			 Lisburn 141,019 
			 Mid Down 136,725 
			 Mid Ulster 116,911 
			 Newry and Mournes 126,145 
			 North Down 163,680 
			 Omagh 103,591 
			 South Armagh 118,913 
			 Strabane 90,491

Valuation and Lands Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Valuation and Lands Agency's technical definition is of an estate code.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency's technical definition of an estate code is a grouping of streets that contain similar age/type of housing and/or group housing built as part of a unified development and/or defines a specific sub-neighbourhood location.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for how long the Valuation and Lands Agency has published an in-house staff magazine; what the frequency of publication is; and what the cost of the publication was in each year since its inception.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency did not publish an in-house magazine but issued an occasional single page news-sheet to all staff by e-mail between 2000 and spring 2006, There were therefore no publication costs. Since late 2006 this function has been absorbed into the Rate Collection Agency staff magazine at nil additional cost.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what use the Valuation and Lands Agency makes of automated valuation techniques with regard to each of the taxes for which it has a statutory responsibility for valuing.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency has statutory responsibility for valuing for rating taxation purposes only.
	It uses Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) techniques to provide first pass capital valuations for the majority of domestic properties. Automated valuation models (AVMs) are used to provide first pass valuations for the "bulk" classes of non-domestic properties—such as shops, offices, factories, stores and workshops.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding the Valuation and Lands Agency has provided to  (a) the University of Ulster,  (b) Mineit and (c) Lumio for the development of mass appraisal software or techniques since 1997.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency paid a total of 20,000 to Mineit in respect of the development of prototype mass appraisal software during 2000-02.
	The Valuation and Lands Agency has not made any payments to the University of Ulster or to Lumio in relation to the development of mass appraisal software or techniques.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings the Valuation and Lands Agency has had with the Republic of Ireland Valuation Office in the last 24 months.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency and the Republic of Ireland Valuation Office are represented on the Steering Group on Harmonisation (Practice and Procedure) England/Wales/Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which meets twice a year. In addition, Valuation and Lands Agency and the Republic of Ireland Valuation Office have met on two separate occasions with the last 24 months.